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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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G  O  D'S     FOOL 


B  1lvOopi5ta&  Stor^ 


MAARTEN    MAARTENS 

AUTHOR    OF    THE    SIN    OF   JOOST    AVELINGH 


NEW     YORK 

I).     APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1892 


('i)i'YRionT,  189'-i, 
By  D.  APPLF.TON  AND  (HIMPAXY. 


ELECTKOTVPFD    ANT)    PlUNTKIJ 
AT  TlIK   APPI.EToN   PrESS,  U.  S.  A. 


nil  2g<^ 


THIS   BOOK   IS   DEDICATED   TO 

ALL   MY  FELLOW-KOOPSTADERS 

IX  THE   FOUR   VAST   QUARTERS  OF 
OUR   MEAN   LITTLE   GLOBE 


i61<S151 


There  was  a  man  once— a  satirist.  In  the  natural  course  of  time  Ms 
friends  slew  hi7n,  and  he  died.  And  the  people  came  and  stood  about  Ms 
corpse.  '■'•lie  treated  the  whole  round  loorld  as  his  football,^''  they  said,  in- 
di(/n<intli/,  "  and  he  kicked  if''  The  dead  man  opened  one  eye.  '■'■But 
alivays  toward  the  Goal,''''  he  said. 

There  was  a  man  once — a  naturalist.  And  one  day  he  found  a  lobster 
upon  tlie  sands  of  time.  Society  is  a  lobster;  it  crawls  backward.  '■'■How 
black  it  isf''  said  the  7iaturalist.  And  Jie  2^ut  it  in  a  little  pa?i  over  the 
hot  Jire  of  his  wit.  '•'■It  ivill  turn  red^''  he  said.  But  it  didn't.  That  was 
its  shameless/less. 

There  was  a  man  once — a  logician.  He  picked  up  a  little  clay  ball  upon 
the  path  of  life.  '■'■It  is  a  perfect  little  globe"  said  his  companions.  But 
the  logician  saw  that  it  was  not  mathematically  round.  And  he  took  it  in 
Ms  hands  and  rubbed  it  between  them,  softly.  '■'■BonH  rub  so  hard^''  said  his 
companions.  And  at  last  he  desisted,  and  looked  down  upon  it.  It  was  not 
a  bit  rounder,  only  pushed  out  of  shape.  And  he  looked  at  Ms  hands.  They 
were  very  dirty. 

There  teas  a  man  once — a  poet.  He  went  wandering  through  the  streets 
of  the  city,  and  he  met  a  disciple.  '■'■Come  out  with  m«,"  said  the  poet,  '■'■for 
a  walk  in  the  sand-dunes.''''  And  they  went.  But  ere  they  had  progressed 
many  stages,  said  the  disciple,  "  There  is  nothing  here  but  sand.''''  "  To  what 
did  I  invite  you?''''  asked  the  poet.  '■'■To  a  ivalk  in  the  sand-dunes."  '■'■Then 
do  not  complain,"  said  the  poet.  "  Yet  even  so  your  tvords  are  untrue.  There 
is  heaven  above.  Bo  you  not  see  it?  The  fault  is  not  heaven''s.  Nor  the 
sand's.'''' 


\ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   SWEEPS   THE   READER   IXTO   A   CLOUD  OF   MIST        ...        5 
ir.   SHOWS   THAT   THE   STORY   WILL   BE   A   HIGHLY   RESPECTABLE 

ONE 13 

in.   AND  ALSO   ALTOGETHER  COMFORTABLE 19 

IV.   THE   NEW   LIFE   BEGINS 25 

V.    LIGHT   AND    SHADE 34 

YI.   "THUNDER  "-STORMS 43 

VIL   STEPMOTHERS 52 

VIIL   COUSIN   COCOA 61 

IX.    ELIAS    HEARS — THE   TRUTH 69 

X.   DR.   PILLENAAR's   REVENGE 73 

XL   "  LIKE   A   STREAM   UNDER   A   WILLOW-TREE  "  .  .  .82 

XII,   VOLDERDOES   ZONEN 91 

XIIL    THE    HEAD   OF   THE    FIRM  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    105 

XIV.   NO  THOROUGHFARE,  AND   THE   WAY  OUT  .  .  .  .116 

XV.   HENDRIK's   TEMPTATION 123 

XVI.   COMPOS    MENTIS 139 

XVIL   A   "  STRUGGLE-FOR-LIFER  " 147 

XVIIL   THE   MARRIAGE-LOTTERY 155 

XIX.   BLANK 162 

XX.   COUSINS   AND   COZENAGE 172 

XXL   THE   BRIDE   ASKS   FOR   FLOWERS   ON   HER   PATH      .  .  .179 

XXII.   TREATS   OF   RELIGION 188 

XXIIL    JIUSIC    AND    DISCORD 196 

XXIV.    A    PRINCE    AMONG    PAUPERS 204 

XXV.    ELIAS   SLAVS   HIS   TEN   THOUSANDS 215 

XXVL    HENDRIK    LOSSELL's    FIRST    STEP 231 

XXVIL   AIGRE-DOUX 231 

XXVIII.   WHY   NOT? 239 

XXIX.   A   PARTNERSHIP   WITH    LIMITED   LIABILITY     ....   246 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

XXX,   ELIAS'S   EYES  OPEN   UPON  THE  WORLD 
XXXI.   TWO   BROTHERS   IN   MISFORTUNE   . 
XXXII.   •'  A   FOOL  AND   HIS   MONEY  " 
XXXIIL   THE   RUBICON         .... 
XXXIV.   A   fool's   THOUGHTS      . 
XXXV.   AND   A   WISE   MAN'S   DEEDS  . 
XXXVl.   TWO   RIGHTS   AND   NO   WRONG 
XXXVII.   A   STRANGE   DUCK   IN   THE   POND  . 
XXXVIII.   THE   POWER   OF   ATTORNEY   , 
XXXIX.   THE   MESSAGE   OF   ETERNAL   SPRING 
XL.   A   FLASH   OF   LIGHT 
XLL   BROTHERS  IN   UNITY 
XLII.   BLIND  JUSTICE      . 
XLIII.   DOOMED 
XLIV.   ALAS,   POOR  HUBERT! 
XLV.   SOCIAL   SCIENCE     . 
XLVL   THE   CATASTROPHE 
XLVII.   THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   SWORD 
XLVin.   SHOEMAKER,  STICK   TO   THY   LAST 
XLIX.   HUBERT'S   DELIVERANCE 

L.   ELIAS'S   GUILT        .... 
LI.   KOOPSTAD   CACKLES 
LII.   THE   RESURRECTION   AND  THE  LIFE 


PAOE 

.  254 
.  260 
.  267 
.  275 

.  281 
.  285 
.  289 
.  300 
.  314 

.  331 
.  335 
.  348 
.  358 
.  371 
.  383 
.  393 
.  408 
.  415 
.  422 
.  425 
.  429 
.  438 


GOD'S    FOOL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SWEEPS   THE    EEADER   INTO    A    CLOUD    OF   MIST. 

Suddenly  the  horses  shook  themselves,  waking  up,  as 
it  were,  from  their  dull  lethargy  of  damp.  They  tossed  the 
great  drops  off  their  maues,  in  a  quick  splash  of  impa- 
tience, once,  twice — then  once  again,  with  a  succession  of 
those  nervous  shivers  that  run  all  down  a  horse's  sides  and 
rattle  the  harness  in  a  dozen  places  together.  And  then 
one  of  them  neighed,  pathetically ;  and  tlie  other  hung 
down  his  head,  as  if  neighing  were  hardly  worth  while. 
Decidedly,  Hendrik  Lossell's  horses  did  not  like  the  mist. 

"  Fie  !  "  said  Chris  from  his  box,  drawling  out  the  word. 
And  then  he  said  it  over  again,  twice,  very  briskly.  "  Fie  ! 
fie ! "  It  was  the  second  warning  did  it.  They  did  not 
heed  the  first. 

Chris  never  shook  himself.  He  sat  immovable  in  his 
long  dark-blue  winter-coat,  his  gloved  hands  holding  the 
reins  in  his  lap.  An  infinitesimal  spray  lay  all  over  the 
surface  of  the  thick  frieze.  He  didn't  mind  the  wet.  It 
Avasn't  wet.  For,  in  fact,  the  night  was  dry,  or  so  a  Dutch- 
man would  have  called  it.  No  rain  had  fallen.  Only  a 
soft  white  cloud  was  trailing  swiftly  over  the  morasses  in  a 
succession  of  innumerable  puffs,  as  from  the  mouths  of 
a  thousand  cannon  underground,  as  if  the  spirits  of  the 
dead  men  in  the  waste  were  warring  against  tlie  climate 
that  had  killed  them.  And  a  heavy  mantle  of  gray  misery 
Avas  soaking  (juietly  downward  in  shivering  masses  from 


6  GOD'S  FOOL. 

the  leaden  sky,  as  if  the  angels  would  shnt  out  the  con- 
sciousness of  so  much  condensing  rheumatism,  and  softly, 
imperceptibly,  a  bright  glitter  of  moisture  was  breaking 
out  on  every  leaf  and  blade  and  pebble,  upon  everybody 
and  everything. 

The  house  was  a  lonely  one.  It  stood  by  itself,  in  its 
gardens,  on  the  road  outside  the  town ;  and  the  nearest 
group  of  cottages,  some  hundred  yards  distant,  had  long 
since  sunk  away  in  clouds  of  vapour.  You  could  not  see 
much  more  than  twenty  feet  in  front  of  you.  And  soon 
you  would  not  be  able  to  see  as  much  as  that,  for  darkness 
was  rapidly  closing  in  over  such  dull  twilight  as  still  feebly 
struggled  with  the  damp.  Already  the  "  seeing  "  was  very 
blurred  and  indistinct.  It  was  an  April  night,  by-the-bye, 
late  in  the  month. 

A  baker's  boy  came  up  the  avenue  and  passed  round  to 
the  back  of  the  house.  Presently  he  appeared  again  whist- 
ling a  dismal  tune. 

"  Bad  weather  for  driving,"  he  remarked  as  he  went  by. 

"  So,  so,"  said  Chris  cheerily.  "  One  good  thing,  it 
keeps  dry." 

"  Yes,  it  keeps  dry,"  answered  the  baker's  boy.  "  That's 
one  good  thing.     Good-night." 

And  he  sank  out  of  sight  into  the  mist,  his  whistle 
alone  lingering  a  few  seconds  longer. 

Another  quarter  of  an  hour  crept  by.  The  darkness 
grew  denser.  And  presently  the  clock  of  the  big  church- 
tower — away  down  in  the  town — boomed  forth  the  hour  of 
eight.  Its  echoes  crept  along  the  dreary  silence,  and  lay 
faint  upon  the  air.  The  chimes  which  must  have  prefaced 
those  final  strokes  had  got  lost  in  the  mazes  of  the  mist. 

Just  before  the  striking  of  the  hour  the  front-door  had 
suddenly  opened,  and  a  man  had  come  running  out,  and 
away  into  the  fog. 

"  Whoever  can  that  be  ?  "  thought  Chris  ;  but  he  never 
speculated  long  on  the  unknowable. 


INTO  A  CLOUD  OF  MIST.  7 

He  looked  up  at  the  lighted  window  in  one  corner  of 
the  house,  on  the  top  story.     There  were  only  two  stories. 

"  Terribly  fond  of  the  poor  creature,"  he  soliloquized, 
half  aloud,  "  one  might  think,  by  the  way  he  keeps  the 
horses  out.  And  that  with  the  infirmenza  in  all  the  stables 
of  the  neighbourhood.  And  it's  not  he  will  stop  at  home 
for  fear  of  anybody's  catching  it." 

Chris  remembered  his  own  experiences  last  year,  when 
he  had  been  bad  with  this  same  influenza,  and  had  been 
obliged  to  drive  his  master  to  the  office  through  the  rain, 
at  least  a  week  too  soon. 

He  shook  his  head  reproachfully  ;  and  as  the  drops  fell 
from  his  hat,  he  thoughtfully  shot  them  off  his  sleeve  with 
finger  and  thumb. 

"  A  bad  master,"  he  murmured.  "  Seems  to  me  the  bad 
masters  get  all  the  good  servants  in  these  parts.  Perhaps 
that  keeps  them  bad."  He  gazed  vaguely  into  the  gathering 
darkness,  as  if  searching  for  a  solution  of  this  mystery. 
And  the  clouds  of  white  mist  drizzled  upwards,  and  the 
clouds  of  gray  mist  drizzled  down. 

One  of  the  horses  sighed — a  long-drawn  sigh.  With 
the  swelling  of  his  sides  the  carriage  creaked  drearily  for- 
ward, and  then  sank  back  again.  The  other  whisked  his 
tail. 

Chris  yawned.  But  even  as  he  did  so,  he  straightened 
himself  and  arranged  the  reins,  A  man's  shadow  had 
passed  rapidly  across  the  white  blind  of  the  lighted  window. 

"  Up  at  last,"  said  Chris  to  himself.  After  a  pause  he 
added  cautiously,  "  At  least." 

A  few  moments  later,  however,  the  house-door  was 
thrown  open  with  a  bang  which  startled  the  horses.  They 
bounded  erect  at  once  in  a  tremble  of  expectation.  "  Wo — a ! " 
cried  the  coachman,  tightening  his  grasp,  and  reaching  for 
the  whip  fron^  '  >lder.     The  little  brougham  quivered, 

as  if  recoiliijg  fo;  I'ing. 

A  gentleman  leaped,  at  one  rush,  from  the  dark  hall 


8  GOU'S  FOOL. 

into  the  dark  carriage,  throwing,  as  he  passed,  the  single 
word  "  Home  !  "  in  the  direction  of  the  box. 

The  carriage-door  banged.  "  Allez,  bo3^s  !  "  cried  Chris, 
for  so  nincli  French  do  all  Dutch  coacliman  understand, 
and  all  Dutch  horses  also.  The  little  brougham  jumped 
forward,  and  ran  away  into  the  fog. 

It  hurried  along  almost  noiselessly  in  the  clinging  white- 
ness that  seemed  unwilling  to  let  it  pass,  so  tightly  did  the 
mist  close  round,  deadening  every  sound  with  its  dull  weight. 
Presently,  however,  the  door  banged  again.  Chris  glanced 
round  quickly,  impatiently.  Only  the  close  carriage  behind 
him,  and  the  horses  trotting  briskly  down  the  road  in  front. 

"  I  do  wish  he  would  learn  to  shut  the  door  when  he  gets 
in,"  muttered  Chris  angrily ;  "  it's  always  falling  open  un- 
expectedly. We  shall  have  an  ugly  accident  some  day  in  a 
crowded  street,"  and  he  whij)ped  up  the  horses,  already 
going  fast  enough. 

Once  within  the  town-gates,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
slacken  liis  speed.  The  gas-lamps,  few  and  far  between,  lay 
like  blurs  of  yellow  fog  amidst  the  white.  Streets,  in  which 
there  was  barely  room  for  two  vehicles  to  pass  each  other, 
were  cut  by  steam-tram-lines.  Chris  peered  forward  a  little 
anxiously,  keeping  his  steeds  well  in  hand.  After  a  minute 
or  two  he  came  to  a  narrow  crossing,  near  a  corner,  and 
here  he  checked  them  into  a  walk.  The  streets  seemed  suffi- 
ciently deserted,  one  would  think,  only  you  can  never  be 
quite  sure.  "  See  Misfortune  before  she  sees  you,"  says 
Chris's  friend  the  County  Almanac. 

A  moment  earlier  Chris  had  heard  his  master  in  the 
carriage.  That  gentleman  had  coughed,  and  struck  some- 
thing, doubtless  inadvertently,  against  the  glass  behind  the 
box.  Now,  in  turning  the  corner,  the  coachman  was  sur- 
prised, and  heartily  annoyed,  by  a  second  click  of  the  lock, 
softer  this  time,  as  if  the  door  were  being  gently  drawn  to. 
He  greeted   it  with  a  round  oath   at  Mynheer  Lossell's 


INTO  A  CLOUD  OF  MIST.  9 

clumsiness,  and,  witliout  deigning  to  glance  backwards 
again,  he  cautiously  wriggled  round  an  awkward  bend,  and 
then  once  more  slackened  the  reins.  After  that  he  did  not 
check  his  pace  till  he  turned  into  a  broad  avenue,  and  drew 
up  at  his  master's  door.  No  one  moved  inside  the  carriage. 
The  coachman  cast  a  reproachful  glance  at  the  lighted  en- 
trance. You  could  see  the  gas-lamps  flaring  steadily  in  the 
vestibule  behind  the  glass  doors.  No  one  moved  in  the  hall. 
Evidently  the  sound  of  the  advancing  wheels  had  not  been 
heard  in  the  house. 

He  put  his  whistle  to  his  lips,  but,  even  in  the  very  act, 
he  hesitated,  and  let  it  drop  again.  He  had  never  required 
to  whistle  on  behalf  of  Mynheer — only  for  Mevrouw.  Myn- 
heer was  often  out  of  the  carriage  before  it  had  properly 
stopped,  long  before  the  manservant  had  run  down  the 
steps  to  meet  him. 

He  peeped  cautiously  down  over  his  shoulder.  He  could 
make  out  nothing  in  that  manner.  An  uncomfortable,  in- 
definite wonder  caused  him  to  slip  from  his  box,  speaking 
soothingly  to  his  horses  the  while,  and  so  cautiously  ap- 
proach the  brougham  window.  One  glance,  and  all  hesi- 
tation was  gone — the  carriage  was  empty. 

He  bounded  on  to  his  seat  again,  and,  with  a  cut  of  the 
whip  at  the  astonished  horses,  he  swept  round  the  short 
drive,  and  away  again  into  the  mist. 

Old  Mulder,  attracted  at  last  by  this  rapid  exit,  stood 
open-mouthed  in  the  wide  hall-door,  staring  at  the  back- 
ward reflection  of  the  carriage-lamps,  flickering  like  lucifer 
matches  in  the  darkness.  And  after  a  moment  even  that 
faint  flicker  died  away. 

"  He  must  have  fallen  out,"  said  Chris  to  himself  over 
and  over  again,  as  he  raced  down  the  road  towards  the  cor- 
ner where  he  had  last  heard  the  door  sink  into  the  slot. 
"  He  must  have  fallen  sideways  in  a  fit  or  something.  See 
what  comes  of  his  careless  ways ! " 

He  stopped  abruptly  at  the  cross-roads.     No  one  there. 


10  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Nothing  to  be  seen.  Nothing  to  be  heard.  He  called — 
softly,  then  louder— "  Mynheer !  "  Whiteness,  stillness. 
The  drip  of  water,  the  glitter  here  and  there  of  smooth  sur- 
faces, and  long  lines  of  drops.  And  the  audible  rustle  of  a 
Dutch  mist.     Pat !     Pat !     Pat ! 

"  Mynheer ! " 

He  bent  forward,  following  the  stretch  of  shining  streets 
with  scrutinizing  eyes.  The  chimes  began  to  ring  down 
tremulously  from  the  tower.     Half-past  eight ! 

He  drove  on  cautiously,  still  tracing  the  road  on  both 
sides  with  careful  question ;  he  drove  out  of  the  city,  into 
the  deathly  loneliness  of  the  shrouded  fields,  still  repeating, 
with  bated  cry,  his  master's  name. 

Not  far  from  the  house  in  front  of  which  he  had  waited, 
he  met  them,  a  whole  crowd  of  them,  confused,  alarmed, 
excited  in  that  frenzy  of  mingled  horror  and  delight  which 
a  great  catastrophe  calls  forth  among  lookers-on.  They 
were  all  crying  together,  in  crazy,  distorted  lamentation  and 
amaze.  Chris  threw  back  his  horses  on  their  haunches. 
What  was  wrong?  For  the  love  of  heaven,  what  was 
wrong  ? 

A  new  outcry  greeted  him.  They  sprang  back  in  alarm 
from  the  frightened,  struggling  horses  looming  in  a  cloud 
of  steam.  The  light  poured  across  their  eager  faces  dis- 
torted with  fear.  Over  the  champing  of  the  horses'  bits 
and  the  screaming  of  the  women  a  man's  voice  rose. 

"  Lossell's  Chris,  as  I'm  alive !  Would  you  believe  it  ? 
Of  all  people,  Lossell's  Chris  !  " 

"  And  why  not  Lossell's  Chris  ?  "  cried  that  personage 
in  a  white  fury,  half  rising  from  his  box-seat  with  uplifted 
whip,  "  What's  the  matter  ?  Where's  my  master  ?  What 
is  wrong  ?  " 

"Wrong?"  echoed  a  chorus  of  voices;  and  the  shrieks 
redoubled.  Somebody  wailed :  "  Oh,  how  shall  we  tell 
him !  " — a  woman.     And  then  there  was  a  lull  of  silence. 

"  Wrong  ? "    continued     the     man's    voice    tranquilly. 


INTO  A  CLOUD  OF  MIST.  11 

"Tliere's   only   this   wrong,   coachman.      There's    murder 
wrong,  that's  all." 

And  as  he  sjioke  a  cry  came  from  the  distant  house,  a 
cry  as  if  of  the  voice  of  a  trumpet,  deep  and  strong  and  irre- 
sistible, over  the  sleeping  country  and  all  the  far  white 
fields  : 

"  Murder  !  most  awful  murder !  0  Christ,  murdered 
yet  living,  dost  Thou  know  of  the  deed?" 

■  A  man  stood  at  the   open   window,  his  face  uplifted 
towards  the  starless  sky. 


CHAPTER  11. 

SHOWS    THAT     THE    STORY    WILL    BE   A    HIGHLY    RESPECT- 
ABLE   ONE. 

The  fool  sat  in  his  room,  by  the  fireside,  with  his  hands 
in  his  lap.  His  eyes  were  closed.  They  were  always  closed. 
God  bad  closed  them.     Many  years  ago. 

In  bis  youth  ?  Well,  hardly  in  his  youth,  if  we  distin- 
guish our  ages  by  their  succession,  for  the  fool  had  always 
been  a  child. 

But  he  remembered  when  he  had  been  a  happy  child. 
He  remembered  it  vaguely,  objectively,  as  we  remember  a 
dream  we  have  dreamed  or  a  book  we  have  read.  Not  with 
a  poignant  consciousness  of  loss,  but  with  a  distant  envy 
cheered  by  hope.  To  know  of  happiness  is  to  believe  it 
possible.  Whatever  has  been,  can  be ;  whatever  can  be, 
may  be  mine.  And  from  moment  to  moment  he  lived  in 
the  present,  which  is  his  all,  expecting  it  to  change  and 
grow  pleasanter,  more  like  that  other  impression  which 
still  lies  next  to  it ;  and,  lo,  the  present  is  gone,  and  an- 
other present  is  there,  and  hope  remains. 

Many  of  our  best  friends  he  missed ;  but  our  most  cruel 
foe — memory — was  also  a  stranger  to  him.  Not  that  he 
could  not  remember,  only  he  could  not  call  up  and  live  over 
again  as  past,  with  any  degree  of  actuality,  half -forgotten 
phases  of  joy  or  sorrow,  the  heart's  experience,  or  the  mind's, 
lie  recalled  how  he  had  burnt  his  hand  badly  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago ;  he  recalled  it  as  if  it  were  yester- 
day, and  a  troubled  look  came  over  his  face,  and  he  shrank 
back  in  alarm.     But  he  smiled  when  they  told  him  that  his 


SHOWS  THAT  THE  STORY,  ETC.         13 

mother  was  dead,  and  he  said  that  it  was  not  true,  and 
pointed  in  the  direction  of  her  yonng  picture  against  the 
wall.     He  knew  that  it  hung  there ;  they  had  told  him. 

How  had  they  told  him  ?  you  will  say.  This  man  to 
whom  God  had  refused  both  the  light  of  His  sun  and  the 
light  of  the  human  voice  ?  What  message  from  the  outside 
world  could  pierce  the  darkness  in  Avhich  he  lay,  blind 
and  deaf?  Hush,  hush !  let- me  tell  my  story  in  my  own 
way.     Yes,  you  are  right,  he  was  blind  and  deaf. 

He  could  not  remember  many  things,  he  had  not  many 
things  to  remember ;  yet  this  morning,  as  he  sat  there  in 
the  loneliness  of  his  room — the  loneliness  of  his  life — scat- 
tered fragments  of  the  past  came  rolling  across  his  mhid 
like  beads  from  a  broken  necklace.  He  caught  them  up 
here  and  there  as  they  passed  him,  not  heeding,  unable  to 
rearrange,  the  lost  symmetry  of  the  string. 

There  had  been  a  time,  long  years  ago  —  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  only  to  him  it  was  not  a  memory,  but  a 
sensation — a  time  when  it  had  seemed  as  if  all  the  gifts  of 
fortune  had  been  showered  down  upon  his  head,  a  golden, 
curly  head,  gilded  by  the  sunshine  of  half  a  dozen  sum- 
mers. All  the  children  of  the  neighbourhood  that  were  old 
enough  to  feel  envy  had  envied  little  Elias  Lossell.  His 
father  was  the  great  merchant  and  town  councillor,  Hendrik 
Lossell,  Avho,  from  being  a  nobody,  had  suddenly  risen  to 
the  rank  of  "  somebody's  husband  "  by  his  marriage  with 
the  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  old  Elias  Volderdoes,  the 
biggest  rogue  and  most  respected  tea-jobber  in  Koopstad. 
For  Koopstad,  though  only  a  little  place,  had  nothing  pro- 
vincial about  it,  and  vied  with  Amsterdam  or  any  other 
great  city  in  its  simplification  of  all  social  distinctions  ac- 
cording to  the  needs  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  only 
casts  it  still  recognized  were  connected  with  the  Mint,  and 
the  one  Order  it  now  invariably  honoured  was  the  money- 
order.  It  looked  down  with  supreme  contempt  upon  those 
out-of-the-way  sister-cities  which  still  ventured  to  maunder 


14-  •  GOD'S  FOOL. 

ubout  their  "  old  families  " ;  such  ideas  miglit  have  answered 
very  well  in  their  day,  but  they  would  not  do  for  anyone  in 
Koopstad  (except  the  old  families  themselves)  since  the 
railway  liad  brought  it  within  forty  minutes  of  the  capital. 
You  were  always  getting  into  awkward  predicaments  for 
want  of  a  definite  limit ;  now,  with  the  new  standard,  as 
imported  by  the  new  train,  no  misconceptions  were  possible. 
You  applied  the  decimal  system,  witli  due  regard  to  pro- 
portion, and  there  you  were.  A  man  possessed  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  florins  was  deserving  of  a  certain  amount  of 
respect ;  a  man  possessed  of  two  hundred  thousand  florins 
had  a  claim  to  exactly  four  times  as  much  esteem,  and  so 
on.  When  you  got  beyond  a  million,  the  good  citizens  of 
Koopstad  dropped  their  voices  and  folded  their  hands,  as 
their  fathers  had  done  in  church.  Old  Elias  Volderdoes 
had  got  beyond  the  million.  He  had  done  so  on  that  last 
occasion  when  he  had  taken  up  the  Government  commis- 
sion for  the  damaged  cargo  of  the  Ino.  It's  an  old  story. 
They  made  him  something  after  that — President  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  I  believe. 

And  they  took  off  their  hats  to  him  a  little  lower.  The 
worthiest  of  them — the  "  well-intentioned  burghers,"  as  the 
rich  people  called  them — regulated  the  sweep  of  their  hats 
through  the  air  by  the  same  mathematical  rule  which  gov- 
erned their  hearts'  esteem.  You  might  have  set  up  an  al- 
gebraic equation — unconsciously,  but  automatically,  exact — 
between  the  angle  of  the  circle  of  their  salute  and  the  in- 
come of  the  person  they  saluted.  The  salute  was  old-fash- 
ioned, but  the  idea  entirely  modern,  as  new  as  most  of  the 
fortunes  which  graciously  waved  a  benedictory  response. 

I  am  not  speaking  evil  of  Koopstad.  Heaven  forfend  ! 
I  am  merely  anxious  to  prove  that  we  are  not  out-of-the- 
way  people — you  can  get  to  Amsterdam  in  less  than  forty 
minutes  if  you  take  the  express — and  that  these  Lossells  for 
whose  tragic  story  I  ask  your  brief  attention  need  not  ne- 
cessarily have  lived  in  our  quite  neighbourhood,  but  might 


SHOWS  THAT  THE  STORY,  ETC.         15 

have  done  honour  to  the  big  city  which  you  inhabit,  unless 
yours  is  the  melancholy  one  where  they  only  do  homage  to 
a  tea-jobber,  when  he  doesn't  cheat,  and  remains  poor. 

Hendrik  Lossell,  then,  from  being  recognized  by  hardly 
anybody  but  his  creditors,  suddenly  dropped  into  the  very 
obtusest  angle  of  salutation  through  his  marriage  with  Mar- 
garetha  Volderdoes.  He  loved  her — so  he  said ;  and  it  is 
very  possible  that  he  loved  Margaretha  Volderdoes  rich  ; 
we  need  not  inquire  whether  he  would  have  loved  her  poor, 
for  she  wasn't.  And  she  loved  him  ;  she  would  have  loved 
him  under  any  circumstances,  as  long  as  he  could  lift  to 
her  pure  forehead  those  great  black  eyes,  behind  Avliich 
there  was  nothing  but  a  machine  for  counting  dollars,  but 
which  seemed  to  spread  like  very  lakes  of  liquid  tender- 
ness. 

So  they  loved  each  other,  and  it  was  all  very  beautiful 
and  sentimental ;  but  old  Elias  did  not  properly  appreciate 
sentiment,  and  it  seems  an  extraordinary  thing  that  he 
should  have  let  them  marry  merely  because  they  were  in 
love.  The  old  ladies  of  Koopstad  still  shake  their  heads 
over  this  mystery ;  but  they  need  not  ask  me  about  it,  for  I 
can  not  tell  them  any  fresh  particulars,  no  more  than  the 
"  Christian  Eef ormed  "  minister's  wife,  who  knows  all  the 
scandals  of  the  town,  including  every  original  or  unoriginal 
sin  that  has  been  committed  there  during  the  thirty-seven 
years  of  her  residence  in  the  place.  I  have  a  shrewd  suspi- 
cion, if  you  ask  me,  that  we  all  of  us,  however  old  or  wealthy 
we  may  be,  retain  a  soft  spot  somewhere  in  our  hearts 
that  hardens  last;  and,  if  such  spot  there  be,  you  will 
probably  find  it  is  a  mother  or  a  daughter — perhaps,  more 
rarely,  a  sister  or — well,  no,  hardly  a  Avife. 

So  they  were  married,  and  lived  happily — all  through 
the  honeymoon,  in  which  better-matched  couples  than  they 
invariably  quarrel.  It  is  a  bad  sign,  that,  too  smooth  a 
honeymoon.  And  a  few  months  later  Margaretha  had 
learned   that  you   must  not  marry   a   man    for   his  eyes. 


16  GOD'S  FOOL. 

People  tell  you  they  are  a  mirror  of    the  soul.     And  yet 
Heudrik  Lossell's  soul  was  far  from — soft. 

He  was  not  a  bad  man ;  he  was  worse — one  of  those 
men  who  are  not  bad  enough  to  get  better.  He  was  not 
interested  in  much  except  himself,  and  he  was  not  even 
interested  in  himself  subjectively,  as  an  independent  "  I." 
The  object  of  all  his  attention  was  the  firm  of  "  Volderdoes 
Zonen,  tea-merchants,"  incorporated,  to  the  advantage  of 
the  civilized  world,  in  the  person  of  Hendrik  Lossell. 

For  old  Elias  had  departed  this  life  after  having  re- 
mained just  long  enough  to  thoroughly  initiate  so  apt  a 
pupil  as  his  son-in-law  into  the  mysteries  of  money-making 
wholesale.  This  fortunate  dispensation — the  remaining,  of 
course,  not  the  removal — Hendrik  Lossell  had  accepted  as 
a  personal  attention  to  himself,  and  it  had  put  him  into  so 
good  a  temper  with  the  government  of  the  world  in  general 
that  he  had  written  down  a  double  amount  opposite  the 
name  of  the  firm  on  the  Church  charity  list  for  the  year — 
"  Volderdoes  Zonen,  six  hundred  florins."  "  A  worthy  suc- 
cessor ! "  said  the  minister's  wife.  But  that  was  the  Church 
minister's  wife  ;  Volderdoes  Zonen  had  nothing  to  do  with 
Dissenters. 

"When  the  little  Lossell  was  born  they  called  him  Elias. 
The  name  was  ugly,  but  it  was  the  fond  grandj^apa's  ;  and, 
besides,  an  ugly  name  looks  well  in  business.  It  sounds 
old-fashioned,  and  "  established  1791,"  and  all  that  kind  of 
thing.  "  Our  Puritan  forefathers,"  you  know,  and  the 
strict  uprightness  and  straightforward  dealing  of  those  good 
old  times.  What  a  "  solid  ''  impression  it  would  make  when 
young  Elias  was  a  middle-aged  man  himself,  and  sat  behind 
the  great  office  table,  with  old  Elias's  portrait  above  his 
head.  He  would  point  to  it,  over  his  shoulder,  benignantly  : 
"  My  grandfather.  I  am  named  after  him.  His  father  was 
the  founder  of  our  house.  If  you  leave  the  mixing  to  us, 
we  can  let  you  have  it  at  two  seventeen  and  three-quarters." 
Lossell's  heart  glowed  at  the  thought. 


SHOWS  THAT  THE  STORY,  ETC.        17 

In  the  meautime  the  little  Elias,  having  wept  the 
customary  tears  over  that  preliminary  sea-sickness  which 
seems  inseparable  from  all  infancy,  sailed  over  as  smooth  a 
life's  ocean  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  any  human  being,  big  or 
little.  His  grandfather,  who  lived  to  see  the  child's  second 
birthday,  worshipped  the  very  ground  he  trod  on.  His 
mother,  having  recovered  in  him  his  father's  eyes,  poured 
out  upon  his  small  existence  all  the  love  which  had  found 
no  former  outlet.  His  father  let  him  alone.  In  one  word, 
his  happiness  was  complete. 

And  so,  when  he  was  five  years  old,  his  mother  died. 
Within  a  year  his  father  married  again — married  "  someone 
to  look  after  Elias."  The  someone  was  a  merchant's 
daughter,  a  young  thing,  ready  to  hand,  for  her  father 
had  business  connections  with  Volderdoes  Zonen.  She 
slapped  Elias.  That  was  her  way  of  looking  after  him.  It 
did  not  answer  as  Avell  as  his  father's. 

Presently  there  were  two  cradles  in  the  old  house,  and 
twins  in  the  cradles,  and  that  put  Elias's  nose  definitely  out 
of  joint.  Matters  did  not  improve  when  his  two  little  half- 
brothers  stepped  out  of  their  cradles  and  on  to  his  toes.  I 
wonder  :  Is  that  why  they  call  them  step-brothers,  because 
they  step  into  your  place  in  the  heart  of  that  imitation 
article  which  your  father  bade  you  call  "  mamma  "  the  other 
day,  and  which  seemed  so  kind  to  you  at  first?  Elias's 
stepmother's  kindness  had  not  even  held  out  the  regulation 
nine  months'  length 

Hendrik  and  Hubert,  the  twins,  now  began  to  enjoy  life 
in  their  turn  ;  their  spell  of  "  good  times  "  was  to  last  longer, 
fortunately  for  them,  than  Elias's.  The  landscape  might 
have  reminded  you  of  one  of  those  Alpine  scenes  when  it 
has  already  begun  to  rain  on  the  mountain,  while  the  valley 
is  still  bright  with  sunshine.  Not  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valley  can  help  it.  Nor  that  they  feel  any  the  happier 
because  the  mountaineers  are  in  the  dark. 

The  younger  boys  were  fairly  fond  of  their  elder  broth- 
2 


18  GOD'S  FOOL. 

er.  They  had  no  objection  to  him.  lie  was  not  in  their 
way.  And  they  pkyed  with  him,  and  bullied  him,  as  chil- 
dren will.  He,  on  his  part,  adored  them  with  unreasoning 
worship.  There  was  only  a  difference  of  some  half-dozen 
years  between  him  and  them.  The  second  wife  used  to  sit 
watching  the  trio  at  their  play.  Elias  had  retained  that 
victoriously  pleading  look  in  the  lustrous  eyes  over  which 
his  poor  mother  had  so  often  sighed  and  prayed.  He  had  a 
noble  forehead — high  and  pure,  as  hers  had  been — and  the 
golden  curls  fell  clustering  over  it  and  down  to  his  shoul- 
ders. He  was  tall  and  well-grown  for  his  age,  neither  very 
clever  nor  remarkably  stupid — backward  if  anything,  and 
more  eager  to  romp  than  to  study.  He  was  fully  seven 
years  old  before  his  father  put  him  to  learn  his  letters — it 
being  Hendrik  Lossell's  theory  that  the  best  leap  follows  on  a 
recoil — and  it  took  him  as  long  to  distinguish  U  from  V  as 
if  he  had  been  an  ancient  Roman. 

The  mother  looked  at  her  own  boys.  They  were  sturdy 
little  Dutchmen,  the  kind  of  children  no  one  but  the 
mother  looks  at  twice.     She  hated  that  other  child. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AND    ALSO    ALTOGETHER   COMFORTABLE. 

Elias  was  nine  years  old  when  the  world,  with  all  its 
good  and  evil,  died  away  from  him,  and  left  him  alone. 

It  was  his  little  brother  Hubert  who,  half  in  fun  and 
half  in  wantonness,  pushed  down  a  flower-pot  from  the  ledge 
of  the  tall  nursery-balcony  on  the  laughing  face  upturned 
to  greet  him. 

"  Hubby !  Hubby !  look  at  the  yellow  bird  on  the  big 
laburnum-tree ! " 

Crash ! 

Hubby  was  leaning  over  the  parapet,  kicking  his  white 
legs  against  its  columns,  with  gravely  puckered  face,  uncer- 
tain whether  to  laugh  oi  cry. 

"  There  is  no  hope,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  there  is  not  the 
slightest  hope.     It  is  a  good  thing  there  is  not." 

He  said  it  harshly.  Standing  in  the  darkened  room  by 
the  small  iron  bedstead  on  which  the  boy  lay  insensible,  he 
looked  from  the  stepmother,  dissolved  in  self-pitying  lam- 
entations, to  the  father,  hard  and  impatient,  annoyed,  per- 
haps, to  be  called  away  in  business-hours.  He  did  not  think 
they  cared  much  ;  and  he  said  it  harshly  because  he  himself 
was  sorry  for  the  child. 

"  Why  a  good  thing?"  asked  the  father  abruptly. 

"  It  is  better  sometimes,  especially  at  his  age,  to  die  than 
to  live  on,"  replied  the  doctor. 

Ilendrik  Lossell  stood  for  a  moment  terror-struck. 
Then  he  burst  out:    "You  mean  that  he  will  recover! 


20  GOD'S  FOOL. 

That  probably  his  brain  will  be  injured — that  he  will  be 
mud,  or  an  idiot,  or  whatever  you  call  it !  And  he  will  live 
on  for  ever — these  idiots  always  do  !  Hey?  speak  out:  do 
you  mean  that  ?  " 

The  doctor  busied  himself  with  his  patient,  disdaining  to 
answer. 

Suddenly  Hendrik  Lossell  turned  upon  his  sobbing 
wife: 

"  Peace  ! "  he  said  fiercely.  "  Go  out  of  the  room.  "What 
are  you  howling  for  ?  For  pity  of  the  child,  perchance ! 
Go — go  out  of  the  room — do  you  hear  me  ? — and  pray  for 
yourself,  not  for  him." 

She  obeyed  him,  gathering  her  wraps  about  her,  and 
keeping  her  handkerchief  to  her  eyes,  as  she  slouched  out 
of  his  sight. 

He  shut  the  door  carefully  behind  her,  and  then  he  came 
back  to  the  bedside. 

"  Doctor,"  he  said  menacingly,  "  let  us  understand  each 
other.  You  are  right ;  that  child  must  either  recover  com- 
pletely, or  not  recover  at  all." 

He  spoke  very  quietly,  but  with  such  concentrated  mean- 
ing that  the  physician,  accustomed  as  he  was  to  scenes  of 
horror,  trembled  at  the  words. 

"  I  shall  do  what  I  can,"  he  answered  gruffly.  "  The 
issues  are  not  in  my  hand,  Mynheer  Lossell.'' 

For  a  few  moments  the  merchant  evidently  hesitated,  at 
war  with  himself.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  little  room 
in  the  dark,  his  straight,  strong  figure  swaying  to  and  fro. 
Then  he  said — slowly  and  distinctly — his  hand  on  the  door- 
handle— his  face  averted  : 

"  I  did  not  intend  that  you  must,  in  any  case,  have 
power  to  cure  the  child.  But,  if  he  recovers,  he  must  re- 
cover completely.  If  he  does  not  regain  the  full  use  of  his 
faculties,  better  that  he  should  not  return  to  life  at  all. 
Should  either  of  these  eventualities  occur — I  refuse  to  be- 
lieve in  the  possibility  of  any  other — you  will  allow  me  to 


ALTOGETHER  COMFORTABLE.         21 

consider  tliat  mortgage  annulled  which  I  still  hold  on  your 
house.  Only,  if  you  please,  in  the  case  of  cure  or  no  cure. 
Half  a  cure  is  worse  than  no  cure.  Half  a  cure,  for  me, 
would  mean  foreclosure.     Good-day,  doctor." 

The  doctor  answered  never  a  word.  He  swore  under 
his  breath  in  the  silence  of  the  sick-room.  "  Foreclosure 
it  shall  be,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  as  far  as  lies  in  my 
power,  so  help  me  God !  But  whatever  can  the  Eight 
Worshipful  mean  ?  " 

He  called  him  Right  Worshipful,  you  see,  because  his 
fellow-citizens  had  rightly  considered  that  Hendrik  Los- 
sell's  income  was  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  councils  of  the 
town. 

Foreclosure  it  was,  accompanied  by  envy,  malice,  and  all 
uncharitableness ;  so  much  so  that  people  began  to  ask 
each  other  whether  the  rich  merchant  was  angry  with  Dr. 
Pillenaar  for  having  saved  his  son's  life.  Lossell  did  his 
reputation  severe  injury  in  Koopstad  by  the  scandal  he 
called  up  around  this  matter ;  but  he  did  not  mind  such 
considerations  a  trifle  in  comparison  to  the  satisfaction  of 
having  his  own  way.  He  knew  that  the  burghers  could 
not  be  guilty  of  contempt,  for  any  lengthy  period,  of  a 
man  who  drove  his  carriage  and  pair.  So  he  persecuted 
Dr.  Pillenaar,  because  Dr.  Pillenaar  had  thwarted  him, 
and  left  the  rest  to  time  and  the  popular  sense  of  what 
is  fit. 

Still,  people  wronged  him  when  they  hinted  that  he  was 
weary  of  his  eldest  son.  He  was  quite  willing  that  the  boy 
should  live,  though,  perhaps,  he  would  not  have  grieved 
over-much  to  see  him  die.  But  the  semi-recovery  of  Elias 
was  indeed  a  terrible  blow  to  him,  and  it  was  not  till  after 
the  merchant's  death  that  Koopstad  found  out  the  exact 
reason  why. 

In  the  meantime  the  object  of  all  this  solicitude,  after 
hovering  for  many  days  between  heaven  and  earth,  turned 


22  GOD'S  FOOL. 


the  wrong  corner  and  decided  to  live.  Much  to  the  doctor's 
astonishment,  and  no  less  to  his  fierce  satisfaction,  Elias's 
strong  little  body  asserted  its  right  to  continued  existence, 
whatever  might  become  of  the  jioor  child's  mind,  lie  rose 
up,  as  it  were,  in  his  sleep,  and  walked  about,  and  even  spoke 
— unintelligible  words  at  first,  the  indivisible  rigmarole  of 
a  dreamer ;  then  slow,  short  sentences,  as  the  sounds  fell 
gradually  into  their  proper  places  again.  But  he  could 
receive  no  answer  to  his  questions.  Some  fatal  injury  had 
been  done  to  the  apparatus  of  hearing  by  the  force  of  the 
blow.  The  doctors  said  that  the  tympanum  was  intact  in 
both  ears ;  they  could  not  account  for  the  absence  of  all 
power  of  perceiving  sound.  It  would  not  have  been  of 
much  use  to  Elias  could  they  have  explained  the  reason  of 
his  deafness.     He  Avould  not  have  been  less  incurably  deaf. 

Some  subtler  influence  was  at  work,  out  of  reach  of  the 
wise  men's  probing,  eating  away  the  very  strength  of  the 
child's  brain. 

He  was  deaf.  Well,  so  be  it.  It  was  a  terrible  affliction, 
but  they  must  make  the  best  of  it,  said  his  father.  Many 
men  were  deaf  who  yet  did  their  work — ay,  and  left  their 
mark — in  the  world.  Elias,  as  soon  as  he  seemed  suffi- 
ciently to  have  recovered  from  his  illness,  was  set  to  learn 
the  deaf-and-dumb  alphabet. 

"  An  easy  thing  enough  for  him,"  remarked  Lossell, 
"  considering  that  he  isn't  even  dumb.  He  might  have 
been  dumb,  you  know,  Judith.  He  can  very  well  go  into 
the  business,  all  the  same." 

Elias,  however,  did  not  find  the  deaf-and-dumb  alphabet 
as  easy  as  his  father  had  expected.  He  struggled  over  it 
with  almost  hopeless  failure,  and  there  was  something 
very  pathetic  in  that  constantly  reiterated,  "  But  I  don't 
understand,"  which  he  sent  out  into  the  silence  around 
him  like  a  futile  appeal  for  help.  His  great  eyes  lighted 
up  for  a  moment  with  something  of  their  old  lustre  under 
the  impulse  of  that  passionate  questioning.     But  soon  the 


ALTOGETHER  COMFORTABLE.         23 

strange  dimness  again  sank  over  them.  "  He  did  not  really 
care  to  understand,"  said  his  teacher  with  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders.  "  He  was  the  most  unintelligent  pupil  that  he 
— the  master — had  ever  come  across." 

"The  child  is  too  stu.pid,"  Hendrik  Lossell  groaned  to 
himself.  "  It  is  not  his  deafness  that  is  at  fault,  but  his 
stupidity.  If  that  fool  of  a  Pillenaar  had  only  understood 
both  the  boy's  welfare  and  his  own !  What  am  I  to  do  with 
him  in  this  condition  ?  There  ought  to  be  a  law  against 
wills  like  that  of  old  Volderdoes." 

And  then  he  made  some  sotto  voce  allusions  to  his 
deceased  father-in-law,  which  were  not  at  all  in  harmony 
with  the  veneration  which  he  had  vowed  to  the  chief  of  the 
great  house,  whether  alive  or  dead. 

Elias  understood  that  he  was  very  naughty,  and  he  ran 
away  into  the  woods  and  flung  himself  on  the  ground  and 
cried.  He  did  not  like  crying,  but  sometimes  he  could  not 
help  it.  And  he  lost  himself  in  the  wood,  following  after 
a  bird  of  strange  plumage  which  he  had  never  seen  before. 
He  thought  he  knew  all  the  birds  that  ever  existed.  He 
was  quite  sure  that  he  knew  at  least  thirty-seven  kinds.  He 
had  counted  them  up  on  his  fingers.  And  he  was  acquainted 
with  any  number  of  plants,  and  flowers,  and  funny  wild 
things,  only  it  tired  his  head  to  remember  the  names.  It 
tired  his  head  now  far  more  than  it  used  to,  before  Hubby 
threw  the  flower-pot  at  him.  His  head  never  used  to  be 
really  tired  before.  And  now,  somehow,  he  was  always 
having  the  headache,  not  always  equally  bad,  but  always 
that  dull  pain  over  the  eyes.  He  could  not  tell  them  about 
his  headaches.  They  would  only  say  it  was  naughty  of  him. 
As  he  dared  say  it  was. 

He  came  home  late  from  that  escapade  in  the  woods,  and 
he  read  in  his  stepmother's  angry  looks  the  reproaches  he 
could  no  longer  hear. 

Mind  you,  this  is  not  a  melancholy  story,  and  I  will  not 


24r  GOD'S  FOOL. 

have  it  designated  as  such,  however  appearances  may  seem 
to  be  against  me.  It  is  essentially  a  comfortable  story,  in- 
tended to  show  the  comfortable  people  that  this  is  really  a 
comfortable  world,  and  that  they  have  a  riglit  to  be  com- 
fortable in  it. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

THE   NEW  LIFE   BEGINS. 

Theke  was  a  big  dinner-party  at  the  Lossells'.  Notv, 
what  more  cheerful  than  a  dinner-party  ?  Especially  for 
those  who,  snugly  established  by  their  own  fireside,  with  a 
book  and  a  valid  excuse,  remember  that,  but  for  such  valid 
excuse,  they  too  must  have  been  there. 

There  was  a  dinner-party.  The  Lossells  were  old-fash- 
ioned people,  and  they  sat  down  to  table  at  half-past  five. 
They  made  up  for  beginning  so  early  by  sitting  on  late. 
And  the  children  came  in  to  dessert,  also  in  the  old-fash- 
ioned manner,  somewhere  near  half -past  seven. 

Sixteen  ladies  and  gentlemen,  including  the  host  and 
hostess,  were  gathered  round  the  oblong  dining-table,  the 
ladies  mostly  in  high  dresses  of  some  sombre  silk,  plum-col- 
oured or  bronze  or  spinach-green,  with  black-lace  trim- 
mings ;  the  gentlemen  in  buttoned  frock-coats  and  black 
ties — portly  gentlemen,  with  sparse  hair  and  solemn,  stupid 
faces,  and  parchmenty  cheeks,  from  which  the  counting- 
house  had  drained  aAvay  all  pulsation,  leaving  only  a  yellow 
smoothness  of  unmeaning  dignity.  The  long  narrow  board 
— there  was  nothing  festive  about  it — stood  covered  with  a 
number  of  dessert  dishes  in  painfully  perceptible  lines  : 
plump,  overladen  dessert-dishes,  full  of  hypertrojihied  fruit 
and  sweetmeats,  dishes  that  seemed  to  say,  "  Look  at  me  ;  I 
can  afford  to  pay."  And  the  guests — especially  the  ladies 
— stared  back  with  depressing  indifference.  They  also 
could  afford  to  pay.  Had  that  not  been  the  case,  they 
would  not  have  been  there. 


26  GOD'S  FOOL. 

There  were  no  other  floAvers  on  the  table  than  the  big 
bouquet  of  red  and  pink  roses,  done  up  by  the  florist  (done 
up  tight),  in  a  crystal  centrepiece ;  but  here  and  there 
stood  a  fat  silver  candlestick,  with  a  thin  candle,  rising  up 
like  a  plumed  officer  among  the  martial  array  of  crackers 
and  pears.  And  a  couple  of  fat-bellied  porcelain  lamps, 
garlanded  with  a  splendour  of  blooms  such  as  Nature  might 
vainly  yearn  to  imitate,  dropped  their  oil  with  a  tranquil 
solemnity  befitting  the  feast.  The  great  gilt  chandelier, 
with  its  dozens  of  candles,  was  not  lighted.  Only  its  cover- 
ing of  yellow  gauze  had  been  removed.  To  tell  the  truth, 
Mevrouw  Lossell  had  made  up  her  mind  that  she  would 
light  the  candles  if  the  Burgomaster's  wife  had  accepted 
her  invitation.  But  the  Burgomaster's  wife  had  written  to 
say  that  she  was  indisjDosed. 

"  Indisposed  to  come,"  said  Lossell  in  his  rough  manner, 
as  he  threw  the  letter  back  to  his  wife.  "  She  says  she  isn't 
well  enough,  does  she  ?  Not  well  enough  with  us,  she  means." 
And  so  the  candles  remained  unlighted. 

None  the  less,  there  was  light  enough — what  with  the 
various  lamps  and  candlesticks  scattered  about  [nay, 
pompously  planted]  on  mantelpiece  and  sideboard — to 
brighten  even  that  big  room,  witli  its  mahogany  furni- 
ture and  dark-red  wall-paper.  It  was  not  the  absence 
of  outer  illumination  which  left  the  assembly  in  the 
dark.  You  may  put  pounds  upon  pounds  of  wax-candles 
round  a  coffin,  but  you  can't  make  it  a  cheerful  object 
by  so  doing.  It  was  the  dignity  which  did  it,  and  the 
consciousness — what  ho,  a  moralist ! — that  only  poor  people 
laugh. 

Let  us  not  speak  irreverently  of  these  worthy  people  and 
their  pleasures.  The  occasion  was,  indeed,  not  such  an  one 
as  warrants  a  smile.  They  were  working  their  way  through 
a  better  dinner  than  falls  to  the  share  of  most  rich  men.  It 
is  an  irritating — nay,  more,  a  deeply-saddening — problem 
for  a  wise  dyspeptic  to  ponder :  the  superabundance  in  this 


TEE  NEW  LIFE  BEGINS.  27 

little  world  of  ours  of  tilings  cookablo,  and  the  extreme 
rarity  of  cooks. 

Mevrouw  Lossell  was  telling  all  about  the  Burgomaster's 
wife  to  a  chocolate  manufacturess — a  cousin — who  sat  four 
places  off.  Farther  down  the  table  Mevrouw  Lossell's  sense 
of  propriety  Avould  not  have  allowed  her  voice  to  reach, 

"  Yes,  the  dear  Burgomasteress  is  ill,"  she  was  saying. 
"  She  wrote  me  an  affecting  little  note.  I  was  so  sorry, 
but  I  could  not  put  off  my  party.  The  doctor  has  absolutely 
forbidden  her  to  go  out." 

"  Except  in  an  open  carriage,"  answered  the  chocolate- 
makeress  tartly.  "  I  saw  her  driving  in  the  park  yesterday 
with  those  fat-faced  children  of  hers." 

This  lady  could  afford  to  be  plain-spoken,  the  Burgo- 
master's wife  having  honoured  her  last  year's  banquet  with 
her  presence,  and  she  could  enjoy  a  little  quiet  spitefulness, 
for — incomprehensibly  enough,  as  it  seemed  to  her  judg- 
ment— the  Koopstaders  persisted  in  preferring  adulterated 
tea  to  adulterated  cocoa.  "  They  don't  know  what  is  good 
for  them,"  she  would  say,  quoting  from  her  husband's  best 
advertisement.  "  Tea  weakens  the  nerves,  but  cocoa 
strengthens  the  blood." 

If  this  be  true,  let  us  hope  that  the  Koopstaders  Avill 
absorb  Johnsonian  quantities  of  the  emollient  beverage 
Their  nerves  will  be  all  the  better  for  a  little  weakening. 

"  Yes,  so  she  tells  me,"  Mevrouw  Lossell  remarked  coolly, 
in  answer  to  the  information  she  had  just  received.  It  was 
not  easy  to  discomfort  Mevrouw  Lossell.  Her  nerves  were 
of  the  genuine  Koopstad  type.  "  I  must  say  I  prefer 
healthy-looking  children.  Some  people's  children  make 
you  wonder  whatever  their  parents  feed  them  on ! " 

The  cousin  replied  only  by  a  nod  and  a  smile,  flung 
across  to  her  hostess,  over  a  gathering  swell  of  interposing 
voices.  She  ignored  the  attack  on  her  own  chocolate-nurt- 
ured offspring.  And  she  contented  herself  by  remarking 
to  her  immediate  neighbour  :  "  And  some  poor  little  creat- 


28  GOD'S  FOOL. 

ures  look  so  pinched  and  wasted  you  cannot  help  asking 
whether  they  get  anything  to  eat  at  all." 

But  the  stout  tobacco-planter  next  to  her,  even  had  he 
understood  her  meaning,  would  have  felt  no  interest  in  the 
subject.  True  to  the  rule  of  his  life,  he  had  already  eaten 
too  much  that  evening.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  real- 
ize the  condition  of  anyone  who  could  eat  too  little.  And 
it  more  than  sufficed  for  him  that  Mevrouw  Lossell  had  pro- 
vided him — John  Pruim — with  so  capital  a  dinner.  They 
were  beginning  to  hand  the  dessert.  It  was  seven  o'clock. 
He  loved  Mevrouw  Lossell. 

The  dessert  brought  in  the  children.  They  came 
through  the  great  dark  door  behind  the  red  damask  screen, 
and  round  into  the  full  light  of  the  dinner-table,  with  its 
glitter  of  silver  and  crystal.  They  advanced — with  chil- 
dren's solemn  hesitation — towards  the  confusion  of  heaped- 
up  fruit  and  disordered  wineglasses,  bordered  by  that  circle 
of  ponderous  faces  all  turned  towards  them  in  a  sudden  lull 
of  languid  interest.  They  saw  nothing — absolutely  noth- 
ing— but  the  dazzling  white  of  the  tablecloth,  and  their 
mother's  meaningless  face  at  the  farther  end. 

The  twins  were  in  front,  hand-in-hand,  their  squat 
figures  clad  in  black  velveteen  blouses,  and  behind  them 
came  Elias,  also  in  black  velvet,  but  in  a  tailor-made  suit, 
with  a  dainty  white  waistcoat,  and  black  stockings  instead 
of  red.  For  Elias  was  now  nearly  eleven.  His  long  fair 
curls  poured  down  in  silken  streams  upon  his  shoulders. 
Mevrouw  Lossell  had  wanted  to  cut  them  off  long  ago.  It 
was  so  silly  for  a  great  boy  to  wear  curls,  she  said.  Elias 
had  also  wanted  them  cut  off  for  the  same  cause.  But  some 
reason  or  other  made  the  merchant  say  "  No."  Perhaps  in 
the  depths  of  his  money-loving  soul  there  still  occasionally 
stirred  a  soft  recollection  of  the  woman  who  had  loved  him 
more  than  money.  It  must  have  been  so,  for,  one  day,  after 
a  fresh  altercation  about  the  hairdresser,  he  suddenly  said 
to  Elias — on  the  fingers,  for  the  child  had  now  learnt  to  un- 


THE  NEW  LIFE  BEGINS.  29 

derstand  that  language  easily :  "  Your  mother  had  such 
curls  as  yours,  Elias."  He  did  not  say  it  till  his  wife  had 
left  the  room.  Elias  never  asked  again  to  have  the  curls 
cut  off. 

The  child  was  tall,  too  tall  for  his  age,  and  his  high 
forehead  and  delicately-veined  cheeks  were  thin  and  pale 
enough  to  explain  the  chocolate-lady's  apprehension.  Yet 
it  was  not  true  that  he  did  not  get  enough  to  eat — not  true, 
in  fact,  that  he  wanted  for  anything,  except  affection.  He 
was  still  the  rich  town-councillor's  eldest  son.  And  he  lived 
in  the  lap  of  that  substantial  luxury  of  which  the  Dutch 
have  possessed  the  secret  for  centuries.  The  landscape 
around  him  was  the  same  as  it  had  always  been,  only  the 
warmth  had  gone  out  of  it  when  his  mother  died. 

His  was  a  swinging,  easy  step,  as  a  rule,  despite  his  deaf- 
ness. Nature  had  accorded  him  that  mysterious  grace  of 
movement,  most  intangible  of  beauties,  which  seems  to 
mould  immediately  and  imperceptibly  the  most  various 
surroundings  into  a  framework  for  one  consistent  central 
figure.  He  was  not,  perhaps,  handsome  according  to  the 
rules  of  straight  lines  and  clear  colours.  But  the  child  was 
interesting — interesting  against  your  will.  And  when  in 
the  middle  of  his  boisterous  play  he  paused  for  a  moment 
by  your  side,  and  turned  full  upon  you  those  great  eyes  of 
his,  already  dimmed  by  the  presage  of  deepening  trouble,  a 
something  in  your  heart  awoke  to  say,  "  God  bless  him  ! " 
before  you  turned  away  to  talk  of  yesterday's  dinner  or  to- 
morrow's dress.  He  could  not  hear  you.  He  would  run 
away,  shouting,  "  Hubby  !  Henky  ! "  with  a  voice  that  rang 
out  like  a  clarion-note,  and  their  shrill  cries  would  come 
pealing  back  in  futile  answer — forgetful  of  his  infirmity 
with  the  forgetfulness  of  children  and  grown-up  men. 

I  do  not  think  that  infirmity  weighed  very  heavily  upon 
him  as  yet.  It  was  awkward,  he  felt,  and  hindered  him  in 
his  intercourse  with  other  children ;  but  it  did  not  prevent 
his  playing  as  much  as  his  heart  could  wish.     And  when- 


30  GOD'S  FOOL. 

ever  he  wanted  anything,  he  could  ask  for  it ;  and  children, 
as  a  rule,  are  far  more  anxious  to  talk  than  to  be  talked  to. 
Being  talked  to  means  being  "  don'ted,"  as  a  rule.  Elias 
found  that,  notwithstanding  his  deafness,  peoj)le  could 
easily  don't  him  far  more  than  he  liked.  And  his  imme- 
diate entourage  had  learnt  to  speak  to  him  on  the  fingers. 
There  had  been  some  talk  at  first  of  trying  to  teach  him 
to  Avatch  the  movement  of  the  lij^s,  but  this  had  been 
postponed,  by  the  doctor's  advice,  till  his  head  was  stronger. 
The  father  had  taken  comfort.  He  had  come  across  a 
couple  of  deaf  and  dumb  gentlemen  in  Amsterdam  who 
read  everything  that  was  said  off  the  lips  with  perfect  ease. 
They  even  spoke,  and  it  was  quite  possible  to  understand 
them  if  you  only  took  the  trouble.  They  were  in  business, 
both  of  them. 

"Your  son  is  not  dumb,  you  tell  me?"  said  the 
director  of  the  great  deaf  and  dumb  institute.  "  I  will 
guarantee  that,  with  the  most  mediocre  intelligence,  he  will 
be  able  in  the  course  of  eighteen  months  to  understand 
everything  that  is  said  to  him  by  whosoever  chooses  to 
speak  slowly  and  distinctly.  There  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  become  as  eminent  a  man  of  business  as  your- 
self." 

Lossell  travelled  back  in  a  fever  of  delight.  He  kissed 
Elias  on  both  cheeks  when  the  boy  came  running  out  to 
welcome  him. 

The  child's  chief  regret  was  that  his  little  brothers  could 
not  converse  with  him.  Mevrouw  Lossell  had  positively 
forbidden  their  learning  to  do  so  before  they  knew  the 
ordinary  alphabet.  She  was  afraid  of  some  disastrous  re- 
sults. She  could  not  herself  have  told  you  what.  But 
Elias  felt  very  sorry.     He  was  not  angry  with  Hubby. 

And  now,  on  the  occasion  of  this  dinner-party,  he 
followed  the  six-year-old  twins  into  the  dining-room.  He 
kept  his  hand  on  Hub's  shoulder,  as  the  little  group  steered, 


THE  NEW  LIFE  BEGINS.  31 

with  uncertain  movement,  in  the  direction  of  the  mistress 
of  the  house. 

"What  an  interesting-looking  chikl  your  stepson  is, 
Mevrouw  ! "  said  Judith  Lossell's  neighbour,  a  white-haired 
old  grandfather,  as  they  sat  watching  the  hoys  draw  near. 

"  I  do  not  call  him  handsome,"  answered  that  lady 
shortly.  She  was  thinking  that  the  old  man  might  as 
well  tell  her  that  Henky  and  Hubby  were  interesting  look- 
ing children  too. 

"  Well,  not  handsome,  perhaps,  but  striking.  Yes,  strik- 
ing. He  has  the  kind  of  look  peculiar  to  those  children 
who  make  a  noise  in  the  world  when  they  grow  up." 

"  He  makes  quite  noise  enough  already,  I  am  sure,"  re- 
torted Mevrouw  Lossell  indifferently.  "  Come  here,  Henky ; 
let  me  put  your  lace-collar  straight.  And  say  'How  d'ye 
do?'  Hubby,  to  Mynheer  van  Veth." 

The  chocolate-cousin  was  making  overtures  to  Henky, 
smiling  and  nodding  over  her  shoulder,  with  an  out- 
stretched cracker  in  her  hand.  She  wanted  him  to  come 
to  her,  partly  because  she  felt  it  was  her  duty  to  notice  the 
children,  and  partly  because  it  would  give  her  an  opportu- 
nity of  telling  her  side  of  the  table  that  her  little  Diederik 
could  read  words  of  one  syllable,  while  Henky  Lossell  did 
not  even  know  A  from  B. 

Elias  stood  awkwardly  near  his  stepmother,  still  clinging, 
as  if  with  a  nervous  clutch,  to  Hubby's  velveteens.  Old  Mr.~ 
van  Veth  had  offered  him  some  sweetmeats.  The  boy  did 
not  take  them.  The  old  gentleman,  looking  up  in  surprise, 
saw  that  Elias's  eyes  were  staring  vaguely  in  front  of  him — 
away  towards  a  dark  corner  of  the  brilliantly-lighted  room. 

"  Good  heavens  !  "  he  said  to  himself ;  "  if  the  boy  is  deaf, 
he  should  look  at  people.  The  eyes  are  the  only  means  of 
intercourse  left." 

"  Come  here,  Elias,"  called  out  the  Town  Councillor  from 
his  end  of  the  table,  as  if  his  eldest  son  could  hear  him. 

He  beckoned  to  the  boy.     They  often  spoke  to  him  in 


32  tiOD'S  FOOL. 

this  manner,  exaggerating  their  gestures  that  he  might  read 
their  meaning  thus  unheard. 

The  stepmother  turned  round  impatiently. 

"  Why  don't  you  go  to  your  father,  child  ? "  she  cried, 
pointing  with  her  substantial  arm.  "  Don't  you  see  him 
calling  you?  Don't  pluck  at  Hubby  in  that  tiresome 
manner !     Can't  you  leave  the  poor  child  alone  ?  '' 

Elias  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  anything.  He  stood 
staring,  staring  away  to  that  dark  corner — over  there. 

A  sudden  silence  fell  upon  the  guests.  Mevrouw  Los- 
sell's  voice,  rising  over  the  buzz  of  conversation,  had  flat- 
tened it  down  at  a  blow.  People  looked  in  her  direction — 
at  her  florid,  angry  features,  and  at  the  pale,  unconscious 
face  by  her  side. 

"  How  naughty ! "  said  her  sister  softly,  yet  audibly,  from 
a  distance. 

The  chocolate-manufacturess  cast  an  indignant  look  in 
the  direction  of  the  voice.  "  Poor  child  !  "  she  interposed — 
out  aloud.  "  Elias,  boy,"  ejaculated  the  father  in  amaze- 
ment, "  come  here." 

Judith  Lossell  heard  the  remarks  of  both  ladies.  They 
irritated  her  still  more.  She  half  turned  in  her  chair,  and 
seized  her  stepson's  arm  and  shook  it  angrily.  "  You 
naughty  child  ! "  she  cried.  "  Why  can't  you  attend  to  what 
your  father  says  ?  "  She  trusted  to  her  expression  to  ex- 
plain her  words — and  pointed  eagerly  across  the  table. 

The  shake  seemed  to  awaken  Elias  to  consciousness. 
He  removed  his  eyes  from  the  cornice,  and  turned  them  full 
on  the  attentive  guests  assembled  round  the  dinner-table. 
Evidently  he  felt  that  something  was  expected  of  him.  He 
must  say  something. 

"  I  can't  see !  "  he  said. 

No  one  understood  the  meaning  of  the  words  for  the  first 
moment.  There  was  a  general  movement  of  surprise,  of 
uncertainty.    His  stepmother  sat  in  annoyed  bewilderment, 


THE  NEW  LIFE  BEGINS.  33 

not  daring  to  make  quite  certain  as  yet  that  this  was  some 
miserable  trick.  His  father  bent  forward  as  if  about  to 
speak.  But  the  wall  of  his  frightened  reserve  once  broken 
through,  Elias  burst  out,  pouring  forth  all  the  flood  of  his 
childish  terror  and  despair  : 

"  I  can't  see  !  I  can't  see  one  bit !  Papa  !  mamma  ! 
where  are  you  ?  Didn't  we  come  into  the  dining-room  ?  I 
don't  know  where  I  am  !  I  don't  understand  !  Touch  me, 
Hubby !  It's  all  dark,  and  my  eyes  are  open  !  Oh,  papa  ! 
what  has  happened  ?     Oh,  papa,  papa,  papa  ! " 

He  burst  into  tears — into  passionate,  panic-struck,  aud- 
ible sobs.  There  was  something  alarming  in  the  thought 
that  they  could  not  reach  the  child — alone  in  his  silence 
and  his  darkness.  The  guests  started  from  their  seats. 
Some  of  the  ladies  fell  back,  and,  unable  to  bear  the  pain 
of  that  wild  sobbing,  broke  into  sym^Jathetic  cries  and 
weeping.  The  wretched  father  ran  round  from  his  seat 
with  a  groan.  He  caught  the  child  to  his  arms,  and  drew 
him  away  to  an  embrasure. 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  "  he  stammered,  as  he  stroked  the  gold- 
en head.  "  It  will  be  better  presently — better  presently. 
He  can't  hear  me  ! "  he  suddenly  cried,  turning  fiercely  on 
the  dumfounded  faces  grouped  at  some  distance  from  the 
corner  where  he  had  taken  refuge.  He  looked  from  one  to 
the  other.  "  Make  him  hear  me  !  "  he  gasped.  "  Tell  him, 
somebody — make  him  understand  that  it  will  be  all  right 
soon  !  It  is  some  passing  distemper.  Comfort  him,  some- 
body !  Here,  you,  Judith  !  No,  not  you  !  "  He  pushed 
her  from  him.  "  0  my  God  !  can  no  one  stop  his  crying 
like  that?  It  will  be  all  right  presently — all  right  pres- 
ently." 

For  a  moment  he  had  forgotten  himself,  and  all  his 
hopes  and  his  ambitions.  He  lifted  the  child  high  in  his 
arms,  and  bent  over  him,  face  to  face,  cheek  to  cheek,  and 
so — motioning  back  all  sympathy  and  all  help — he  bore  him 
away  into  the  silent  loneliness  of  their  individual  loss. 
3 


CHAPTER  V. 

LIGHT  AND   SHADE. 

Elias  did  not  immediately  become  irretrievably  blind. 

After  a  few  anxious  hours  his  sight  returned.  He 
looked  round  and  feebly  recognized  his  father,  and  stroked 
his  hand.  And  a  little  later  he  sat  up  in  bed  and  smiled. 
Then  the  doctor  took  his  hat  and  went  home ;  and  when 
the  doctor's  wife,  who  had  sat  up  for  him,  met  him  in  the  pas- 
sage, and  said,  "  Well  ?  "  he  answered  her  abruptly,  "  Don't 
ask  me,"  and  brushed  past  her  into  his  study  and  banged 
the  door.  It  was  not  Dr.  Pillenaar.  Elias  had  cried  in 
vain  for  Dr.  Pillenaar.  The  man  who  had  ruined  Pillenaar 
dared  not  ask  his  aid. 

The  child  grew  better  without  it.  For  a  time,  at  any 
rate,  he  could  see.  But  now  under  the  stress  of  this  new 
calamity,  he  confessed  to  those  continual  headaches  he  had 
not  dared  to  complain  of  before.  His  frightened  stepmother 
reproached  him  for  his  reticence. 

"  Yes,  I  very  often  have  a  pain  over  my  eyes,"  he  ad- 
mitted ;  "  but,  mother,  I  didn't  think  I  might." 

This  is  not  a  melancholy  story.  I  refuse  to  be  told  that 
it  is  melancholy.  It  "  ends  well."  You  who  can  see,  and 
won't,  and  won't  hear,  and  can,  you  will  envy  my  blind 
child  yet,  when  the  lights  and  shadows  change. 

In  the  meantime  he  was  more  interesting  than  ever,  and 
the  doctors  talked  him  over  at  the  Club. 

"  There  is  some  permanent  injury  to  the  brain  from  the 
effects  of  the  original  blow,"  said  the  physician  last  called 


LIGHT  AND  SHADE.  35 

in.  ''  The  communication  between  it  and  the  organs  of 
sense  suffers  in  consequence.  First  the  hearing  was  inter- 
cepted.    Now  it  is  the  eyesight." 

"  I  have  alwa3's  said  the  brain  could  not  entirel}^  re- 
cover," interposed  Dr.  Pillenaar.  He  was  heartily  sorry  for 
the  patient,  but  he  was  a  little  glad  that  his  prognostic 
should  not  have  proved  erroneous. 

"  It  is  like  a  volcanic  territory,"  began  another  man, 
who  liked  to  hear  himself  speak.  "  There  has  been  a  sub- 
sidence, or  an  eruption,  and  the  telegraph-wires  have  come 
down.  So  long  the  boy  is  blind.  As  soon  as  the  com- 
munication is  re-established,  or  succeeds  in  re-establishing 
itself,  he  can  see  again.  You  will  have  another  upheaval 
presently  and  another  crash,  and  some  day  it  will  be  with 
the  eyes  as  with  the  ears,  and  no  one  will  be  able  to  put  the 
telegraph-poles  up  again." 

"  Poor  little  chap  ! "  said  the  doctor  who  had  witnessed 
the  flash  of  the  first  telegram,  after  the  interruption,  be- 
tween father  and  son. 

"  But,  for  Heaven's  sake,"  cried  Pillenaar  excitedly,  "  you, 
who  have  influence  with  the  father,  get  him  to  see  some 
great  specialist.  Get  him  to  take  the  child  to  Utrecht,  or 
abroad,  if  he  wants  to  go  farther  and  fare  worse." 

The  other  doctor  mentioned  this  idea  to  Lossell  next 
time  they  met.  The  idea  was  a  good  one.  And  the  fright- 
ened lad  went  with  his  stepmother  to  Utrecht,  and  had  to 
undergo  the  ordeal  of  the  railway  journey,  and  the  long 
wait  in  that  sickening  ante-room — all  doctors'  ante-rooms 
are  sickening,  if  you  are  really  ill — and  the  solemn  trial  with 
its  suspenseful  watching  of  the  great  man's  kindly  face. 
And  then,  because  he  was  a  child,  they  mercifully  sent  him 
away  before  the  final  verdict,  as  if  it  lightened  the  victim's 
doom  to  leave  the  sword  suspended  over  his  head.  Alas ! 
the  sword  was  indeed  suspended  there,  and  no  medical 
science  could  unhook  it.  The  famous  oculist  could  only 
speak   of  possibility  and   hope.      The  eyes  were  sound — 


36  GOD'S  FOOL. 

strong,  healthy,  and  beautiful  still.  The  danger  lay  in  the 
brain.  "  And  of  diseases  of  the  brain,  my  dear  madam — 
shall  I  be  absolutely,  straiglitforwardly  truthful  ? — neither 
I  nor  the  brain-doctors  know  anything  at  all  as  yet." 

As  long  as  the  attack  had  not  repeated  itself,  however, 
there  was  every  hope  of  its  not  proving  of  serious  impor- 
tance. In  this  all  the  wise  men  were  agreed.  A  single 
seizure  might  signify  nothing;  a  recurrence  would  mean 
ruin.  It  must  be  avoided  at  all  cost.  A  residence  of  sev- 
eral months  in  a  milder  climate  was  suggested.  Could 
Mynheer  Lossell  see  his  way  to  arranging  that  it  should 
take  place  ? 

"  I  will  sacrifice  anything  I  possess  to  save  the  child's 
eyes,"  said  Hendrik  Lossell.  "It  is  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  to  me — of  life  and  death ! " 

"  Anything  he  possessed ! "  People  smiled  to  each  other 
a  little  sceptically  when  those  words  were  repeated  at  the 
Club.  Yet  they  did  wrong.  They  did  not  know,  to  begin 
with,  how  much  Hendrik  Lossell  possessed.  They  could 
but  take  off  their  hats  to  his  carriage  in  the  street,  and  not 
to  the  contents  of  his  strong-box. 

So  Elias  was  sent  away  to  Clarens,  and  instructed  to 
play  about  in  the  open  air,  and  to  drink  as  much  milk  as 
he  could  swallow.  He  did  not  like  the  milk,  but  he  liked 
driving  the  cows,  so  they  allowed  him  to  combine  the  two, 
and  he  was  happy.  It  was  his  old  nurse,  Johanna,  who 
made  this  arrangement  for  him,  and  many  others.  Mevrouw 
Lossell  could  not  leave  the  cares  of  her  household,  so  Jo- 
hanna was  sent  for — Johanna,  who  had  watched  over  Elias's 
golden  morning,  who  had  loved  his  mother  with  unreason- 
ing affection,  and  who  had  only  left  the  family  because  she 
could  not  endure  the  sight  of  another  woman  in  the  dead 
mistress's  place. 

She  had  reproached  herself  a  thousand  times  for  having 
deserted  the  orphan,  and  she  accepted  Mynheer  Lossell's 
proposal  as  a  message  of  reconciliation  with  Heaven.    What 


LIGHT  AND  SHADE.  37 

mattered  it  that  she  was  called  to  face  all  the  terrors  of  a 
foreign  countr}^  a  land  of  mountains  and  cataracts,  and 
other  traps  for  the  unwary,  a  land  where  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  her  to  obtain  that  bi-hourly  cup  of  coffee  which  is 
the  fetish  of  Dutch  domestic  servants?  She  bravely  an- 
swered all  the  forebodings  of  her  terrified  circle  of  acquaint- 
ance with  the  words,  "  I  shall  be  caring  for  Elias,"  and  she 
went  forth  undauntedly  into  the  jaws  of  the  Unknown  like 
a  female  Stanley,  with  her  charge  and  Mynheer  Lossell  in  a 
first-class  carriage — change  at  Cologne.  Her  old  mother 
and  three  sisters  watched  the  fast  train  speed  away — into 
the  distance — into  an  infinitesimal  black  vagueness — into 
emptiness.  There  was  nothing  left  of  her.  Nothing  but  a 
memory  and  a  prayer. 

She  had  her  coffee  at  Cologne,  but  she  had  no  coffee 
between  Cologne  and  Bdle.  She  survived  the  omission. 
The  spell  was  broken,  and  I  believe  she  is  a  contented 
woman  still. 

Rooms  had  been  found  for  her  and  the  child  in  the 
house  of  a  widow,  whose  husband  had  been  Swiss  watch- 
maker in  a  Dutch  country  town.  The  landlady,  therefore, 
spoke  a  few  words  of  Dutch,  and  understood  a  good  many 
more.  Had  this  not  been  the  case,  she  could  hardly  have 
accepted  the  charge  of  her  lodgers,  for  Elias  was  prevented 
by  his  infirmity  from  picking  up  words  of  a  foreign  tongue, 
as  other  children  would  have  done ;  and  as  for  Johanna,  to 
her  the  whole  French  language  appeared  to  present  no 
definite  sounds  of  which  a  rational,  full-toned  organ  of 
speech  could  possibly  lay  hold. 

"The  people,"  she  said,  "are  all  butterflies,  and  the 
French  words  are  just  like  moths — they  go  flying,  flying 
past  you,  and  when  you  succeed  in  grabbing  hold  of  one  of 
them,  it  crumbles  away  to  nothing  in  your  hand." 

Johanna  very  seldom  caught  her  moths. 

They  spent  two  months  together  at  Clarens,  two  months 
of  a  superbly  fading  autumn,  watching  the  crimson  glow 


38  GOD'S  FOOL. 

pale  off  into  an  ashen  gra}--.  Around  them  the  late  roses  in 
neat  beds  of  cultivated  colour ;  before  them  the  blue  seren- 
ity of  far-stretching  water,  the  limpid  lake ;  and  opposite, 
ascending  above  the  sloping  masses  of  russet  and  golden 
and  faintest  yellow — those  sylvan  splendours  of  Nature's 
gorgeous  death — o'ertopping  all  that  changes  with  our 
changeful  seasons,  towering  high  into  the  presence  of  the 
unalterable  :  the  pure  summits  of  eternal  snow.  The  child, 
whose  eyes  had  never  before  lifted  themselves  to  any  earthly 
object  sublimer  than  a  church  weather-cock,  now  gazed  with 
awe-struck  wonder  upon  these  heights  that  yearn  towards 
the  stars.  He  realized,  untold,  not  so  much  their  loftiness 
or  their  purity,  as  their  unbroken  silence,  the  snow-bound 
unapproachableness  in  which  they  rest  throughout  the  ages. 
It  must  be  very  still  up  yonder,  he  felt,  always  still,  as  in 
the  stillness  of  his  own  young  heart,  on  Avhich  no  ripple 
ever  broke  of  other  laughter  than  his  own.  And  tlie  mount- 
ains drew  nigh  to  him  in  his  loneliness  through  one  of  those 
inexplicable  childish  whims  of  sympathy  which  sometimes 
bind  our  early  years  in  a  communion  with  Nature,  which 
we  never  quite  lose  in  after-life.  He  would  fancy  himself  a 
mountain — the  mite — tall,  majestic,  untouched  by  the  world's 
coming  and  going,  far  away  in  the  hush  of  God,  nearer  to 
heaven  in  the  solitude  and  the  silent  waiting.  And  he  would 
nod  to  the  great  gray  pile  beneath  the  dropping  clouds. 

"  We  are  friends,  you  and  I,"  he  said  aloud. 

Johanna  poised  her  uplifted  needle  in  her  hand,  and 
stopped  to  look  at  him.  He  was  gazing  into  the  lofty  dis- 
tance, into  limitless  transparent  azure,  away  beyond  the 
mountains,  beyond  the  clouds.     Johanna  shook  her  head. 

The  next  moment  he  was  romping  tlirough  the  little 
garden,  the  music  of  his  own  merriment  filling  his  desolate 
heart ;  for  Tonnerre  had  pounced  upon  him — Tonnerre,  the 
landlady's  nondescript  spaniel,  who  owed  his  tremendous 
name  to  the  unreasonable  rumble  by  which  he  invariably 
showed  his  discontent.     Tonnerre's  discontent  was  chronic. 


LIGHT  AND  SHADE.  39 

His  health  was  perfect,  though  Madame  Juberton  tried  to 
make  everyone,  herself  included,  believe  that  bodily  afflic- 
tion accounted  for  his  ill  temper.  It  was  a  pious  fraud, 
common  to  the  womankind  connected  with  grumblers.  As 
a  rule,  the  people  who  never  cease  complaining  complain 
without  occasion,  for  you  cannot  possibly  always  hit  on  a 
just  cause  of  complaint.  So  they  get  into  the  habit  of  dis- 
continuing their  search  for  a  reason,  and  they  soon  find  out 
that  they  can  get  on  far  more  fluently  without. 

Illogically,  then — for  he  was  intensely  illogical,  a  human 
failing  rarely  found  in  dogs — Tonnerre  had  taken  a  great 
liking  to  Elias,  which  he  showed  him  chiefly  by  pouncing 
upon  him  unawares.  He  had  early  perceived  that  the  deaf 
boy  could  not  hear,  but  only  see  him,  and  he  utilized  the 
discovery  by  inventing  a  game  which  would  suit  these 
unusual  circumstances.  Elias  played  with  his  four-footed 
companion  as  often  as  the  latter  would  permit.  Sometimes 
a  little  oftener. 

The  child  was  happy  at  Clarens.  Everybody  was  kind 
to  him.  Johanna  loved  him.  Madame  Juberton,  after  he 
had  been  in  her  house  for  nine  minutes,  loved  him  too. 
She  was  not,  you  will  notice,  a  very  soft-hearted  woman. 
Most  women  love  an  afflicted  child,  when  they  meet  with  it, 
at  first  sight,  and  do  not  take  nine  minutes  to  make  up 
their  minds  about  the  matter.  God  bless  their  motherly 
hearts ! 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Elias  one  day,  after  he  had  been 
sitting  a  long  time  pensive  at  his  nurse's  feet,  "  you  are — I 
don't  quite  know  how — but  I  think,  Johanna,  I  think  you 
are  like  mamma.  I  mean,"  he  added,  after  a  moment,  in  a 
solemn  whisper — "  I  mean  mamma  in  heaven." 

Johanna  vigorously  shook  her  head  in  jn'otest,  but  his 
eyes  were  not  turned  towards  her. 

*'  I  can't  say  how  I  mean  like,"  he  went  on  thought- 
fully, "  not  like  her  portrait  in  the  library,  but  like  her  to 
me,  somehow.     Like  the  smell  of  roses,  you  know.     They 


40  GOD'S  FOOL. 

look  so  clifferent  till  you  smell  tliem,  and  then  they  are  the 
same.  And  it  isn't  the  smell,  Johanna.  I  don't  know 
what  it  is.  It's  the  feel,  I  think.  Since  I  am  deaf,  I  seem 
to  feel  different.  And  when  it — it  tingles,  then  it  reminds 
me.  And  the  tingles  go  together.  I  can't  make  you  under- 
stand. But  I  understand  for  myself.  It's  the  tingle  does 
it,  not  the  smell." 

She  understood — indistinctly,  yet  enough.  And  she 
caught  up  the  little  fellow  in  her  arms. 

Two  days  afterwards  she  found  him  crying  in  his  bed — 
a  great  boy  of  eleven.  Fie  upon  him !  What  was  he  cry- 
ing for  ?  He  did  not  dare  to  tell  her.  At  last  it  came  out, 
among  the  sobs.  "  It  was  so  wicked  of  him,  and  he  was 
ashamed  of  it.  But  the  thought  had  come  upon  him  that 
Tonnerre  was  like  mamma." 

And  so  love — the  divine  word  beyond  human  utterance 
— stammered  forth  its  first  broken  accents  upon  the  silence 
of  the  deaf  boy's  heart. 

A  glow  of  kindness  spread  around  and  over  him,  bring- 
ing with  it  undefined  reminiscences  of  the  opening  scenes 
of  his  existence.  People  not  only  made  those  necessary 
signs  to  him,  which  they  had  always  made  since  he  had  lost 
his  hearing,  but  they  added  superfluous  ones — little  un- 
expected nods,  and  smiles,  and  twitches  of  the  eyes,  which 
came  to  him  now  as  so  many  gentle  words  and  terms  of 
endearment  come  to  more  fortunate  children.  Johanna 
would  sit  watching  to  catch  his  eye ;  and  his  glad,  frank 
flash  of  recognition  would  amply  repay  her  for  any  tender- 
ness she  bestowed  upon  him.  Madame  Juberton's  increas- 
ing affection  took  the  form  of  increasing  sweetmeats.  The 
more  her  heart  warmed  towards  Elias,  the  bigger  she  made 
her  tarts.  And  it  was  not  till  she  reached  the  limit  of  her 
largest  pudding-mould  that  she  found  out  how  incon- 
venient is  the  limitlessness  of  the  human  soul. 


LIGHT  AND  SHADE.  41 

He  liked  the  tarts ;  no  fear  of  his  not  liking  them.  For 
he  was  a  bright  boy  with  a  healthy  appetite,  and  nothing 
about  him  of  those  transcendental  little  wretches  who  are 
too  good  to  succumb  to  a  weakness  for  goodies.  I  am  sorry 
to  own  I  fear  he  was  not  at  all  particularly  good.  His 
stepmother  was  right  in  saying  that  there  was  no  danger  of 
his  dying  from  premature  development  of  wings.  He  did 
not  want  his  wings  to  develop.  He  did  not  want  to  die. 
He  was  self-willed,  and  he  always  gave  the  preference  to  his 
own  view  of  his  own  requirements,  as  older  children  are  apt 
to  do  at  times.  And  he  had  occasional  fits  of  mischief,  as 
when  he  put  Tonnerre  into  the  milk-pail,  because  someone 
had  explained  to  him  the  other  day  that  thunder  had 
turned  the  milk.  He  soon  began  trying  to  bully  Johanna, 
and  sometimes  he  succeeded,  and  sometimes  he  didn't.  He 
did  not  mope  about  his  deafness,  for,  thank  God !  he  did 
not  fully  realize  it.  And,  with  the  insouciance  of  his  age, 
he  had  forgotten  all  about  the  scare  of  his  blindness.  He 
did  not  think  he  was  going  to  be  blind.  They  had  said  it 
would  be  all  right  now  the  weakness  kept  away. 

He  sat,  with  Tonnerre  asleep  on  his  knees,  and  Johanna 
at  work  as  usual,  by  his  side,  watching  the  hushed  sunset  of 
a  beautiful  autumn  evening.  Johanna  was  knitting  a  set 
of  reins  for  him — crimson  wool  with  tinkling  bells ;  she  had 
been  busy  over  them  for  some  time,  and  he  watched  her 
work  with  increasing  interest. 

"  When  you  are  ready,  I  shall  be  your  horse,"  he  said ; 
"  I  am  sure  now  I  prefer  being  horse.  I  have  made  up  my 
mind,  because  it  is  so  nice  to  be  able  to  run  wherever  one 
likes." 

Johanna  nodded  back  to  him,  and  beamed  all  over  her 
genial  face.  Then  she  said  to  him  on  her  fingers — for  she 
had  learned  to  use  these  signs  with  extreme  facility — that 
they  would  go  for  their  long-planned  excursion  to  the 
mountains  on  the  other  side  as  soon  as  the  reins  were  ready 
— to-morrow,  perhaps,  or  the  day  after,  and  he  should  lead 


42  GOD'S  FOOL. 

licr  all  the  time.  He  flushed  up  with  pleasure,  as  ho 
watched  her  nimble  movements.  "  That  will  be  splendid  ! " 
he  answered — "  splendid  !  "  He  loved  sweetmeats,  undoubt- 
edly, but  he  loved  sweet  words  far  better,  and  those  fond 
glanees  best  of  all. 

The  pale  autumnal  light  was  rapidly  shadowing  over,  so 
rapidly  that  it  seemed  as  if  you  could  almost  watch  the  folds 
of  the  mantle  of  night  come  falling  one  by  one  across  the 
landscape.  A  moment  ago  the  whole  mountain-side  had 
been  one  great  mass  of  sunlit  foliage,  swept  together  in 
tumbled  waves  of  crimson,  and  sheets  of  vari-coloured  gold. 
The  confusion  of  splendour  was  already  gone ;  a  wide 
smoothness  of  dull  orange  was  deepening  into  indefinite 
gray.  And  the  cold,  still  sky  was  shrouding  itself  in  mist. 
The  sun  had  sunk  from  sight  behind  the  mountains,  yonder, 
where  his  radiance  still  lay  white.  Elias  sat  looking  intently 
on  the  spot  where  he  had  disappeared. 

The  nurse  shuddered.  The  autumn  air  was  cold,  and 
earthy,  wet  with  decay  and  approaching  death. 

"  Let  us  go  in,"  she  said. 

But  Elias  clung  to  her,  and  held  her  fast. 

"  Oil,  it  is  beautiful !  "  he  said—"  beautiful !  What  a 
beautiful  thing  to  see  !  " 

She  drew  him  into  the  house,  and  helped  him  to  get  into 
bed  ;  and  she  sat  watching  him  for  many  minutes  after  he 
had  dropped  fast  asleep. 

And  the  next  morning,  when  Elias  again  opened  his 
eyes,  he  found  that  God  had  left  him  nothing  in  the  world 
for  them  to  open  on. 


CHAPTER  VL 

"  THUIf  DER  "-STORMS. 

No,  it  was  not  xmexpected,  or  unusual,  or  unlikely.  At 
least,  not  if  we  are  to  believe  the  doctors,  for  the  news  no 
sooner  got  about  that  little  Elias  Lossell  was  once  more 
stricken  with  blindness,  than  all  the  medical  authorities  of 
Koopstad  exclaimed  that  they  had  foreseen  this  catastrophe 
from  the  first.  And  the  great  specialist  who  had  advised 
the  journey  to  Clarens  remarked  what  a  good  thing  it  was 
that  they  had  followed  his  advice,  or  the  blindness  might 
have  come  on  almost  seven  weeks  sooner.  Old  Lossell  hur- 
ried over  to  see  what  could  be  done  for  his  unfortunate  son. 
Nothing  could  be  done. 

It  was  not  unexpected.  At  least,  not  to  Johanna,  who 
had  watched,  Avith  that  fatal  perspicacity  which  only  love 
bestows,  for  every  sign  of  approaching  danger.  She  could 
not  deny  to  herself  that  of  late  Elias  had  been  constantly 
troubled  by  his  old  enemy,  the  headache  over  the  eyebrows ; 
that  he  had  complained  of  the  restless  flames  and  circles 
which  would  not  let  him  sleep  at  night ;  that  he  had 

Ah  me  !  that  morning,  a  few  days  ago,  when  she  had 
spelt  out  to  him  from  her  window,  "  Jasje,  see  the  big  bal- 
loon over  the  water  !  "  and  he  had  called  back  out  of  the  gar- 
den, "  There  isn't  any  balloon,  Johanna — there  isn't  any 
balloon  at  all."  How  had  she,  in  the  phraseology  of  her 
own  people,  "  held  her  heart  fast,"  lest  it  should  drop  from 
her ! 

These  and  many  other  instances  I  have  passed  over,  not 
wishing  to  dwell  upon  what  will  be  considered  by  many  a 


44  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sad  episode  in  the  story  of  Elias  ;  anxious,  above  all,  to  avoid 
any  semblance  of  a  wish  to  "  pile  up  the  agony,"  as  it  is 
vulgarly  called;  but  I  am  conscious  of  few  things  with 
greater  clearness  than  of  the  fact  that  Johanna,  when  she 
detailed  her  experiences  to  me  in  after-years,  repeatedly  as- 
sured me  that  she  had  seen  the  prophetic  cloud  lie  heavy  on 
Elias's  brow  for  many  weeks  before  it  fell. 

It  fell.  The  woman  sat  by  his  bedside,  the  unfinished 
harness  on  her  lap.  From  out  his  sudden  darkness  the 
child  poured  out  question  after  question,  appeal  after  appeal. 
He  wanted  help — medical  help  ;  would  they  give  it  to  him  ? 
AYas  the  doctor  coming  ?  Had  he  been  already,  perhaps  ? 
What  had  he  said  ?  Would  the  blindness  pass  off  as  it  had 
passed  off  last  time  ?  Of  course  it  would  pass  off — would  it 
not  ?  would  it  not  ? 

No  answer  possible. 

The  woman  got  up  hurriedly,  and  rushed  from  the 
room.  She  could  no  longer  bear  that  ceaseless  cry  into  the 
void.  And,  then,  she  could  not  bear  to  be  away  from  it, 
beyond  the  reach  of  his  requirements  and  his  sorrows,  and 
she  came  hurrying  back  again,  and  fell  down  by  the  bed- 
side, and  took  his  little  hand  and  held  it  fast  in  both  her 
own. 

And  she  was  almost  glad  that  he  could  not  see  her 
tears. 

Already,  in  that  first  anxiety  of  desolation,  she  taught 
him  that  the  pressure  of  her  hand  meant  "  Yes." 

After  a  moment  or  two  he  understood  her.  A  look  of 
passionate  relief  came  over  his  face.  The  inexpressible 
horror  of  complete  isolation  died  away  from  him — a  horror 
of  thirty  minutes'  duration,  never  to  be  forgotten — com- 
munication was  re-established,  imperfect,  yet  possible.  He 
trembled  over  it,  cried  over  it,  clung  to  it,  and  in  a  sudden 
flash  of  inspiration  he  burst  out : 

"  Stroke  my  hand,  if  you  mean  '  No,'  Johanna.  It 
won't  remain,  will  it?    It  will  go  off,  as  it  did  last  time. 


"  THUNDER  "-STORMS.  45 

It  can't  remain.     Oh,   Johanna,  why  doesn't  the  doctor 
come?" 

"  Let  him  stay  where  he  is  for  the  present,"  said  Me- 
yrouw  Lossell,  arranging  her  teacups,  and  looking  away  from 
her  husband  ;  "  it  will  be  much  better  both  for  him  and  for 
the  other  children.  You  say  that  the  woman  is  devoted  to 
him,  and  she  can  give  him  her  continual  care.  He  is  con- 
tent to  be  with  her,  I  presume  ?  " 

"  More  than  content,"  said  Hendrik  Lossell  bitterly. 

She  rattled  her  cups  slightly,  still  without  looking  at 
him. 

"  I  have  always  deeply  regretted,"  she  went  on,  "  that 
your  son  has  not  met  my  advances  with  such  confidence  on 
his  part  as  I  believe  them  to  have  merited." 

"  The  child  !  "  burst  out  Lossell ;  "  the  poor,  wretched, 
motherless  child ! " 

"  Not  necessarily  motherless,"  she  answered  coldly. 
"  You  need  not  insult  me  without  reason,  Hendrik. 
These  recriminations  are  as  unseemly  as  they  are  un- 
availing. But,  in  the  interest  of  my  own  children,  I  must 
discharge  a  present  duty,  though  I  can  afford  to  ignore  the 
past.  However  painful  the  duty  may  be,  I  dare  not  shrink 
from  it." 

It  is  a  thoroughly  feminine  trait  to  accuse  an  opponent 
of  having  started  an  argument  which  can  no  longer  be 
profitably  kept  up. 

"  And  what  is  your  duty  ?  "  asked  the  merchant,  with  a 
palpable  sneer. 

"  To  suffer  misrepresentation,"  she  answered  quickly. 
"  Very  well,  I  will  endure  it.  And  therefore  I  venture  to 
say,  Elias  must  not  associate  daily  with  his  little  brothers. 
The  strain  would  be  greater  than  children  of  their  age 
could  endure.     And  I  cannot  allow  them  to  submit  to  it." 

"  Pooh  !  "  said  the  merchant. 

Judith  was  not  a  woman  of  half-measures. 


46  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Briito  !  "  she  cried,  turning  on  her  husband.  "  Choose 
between  my  children  and  your  own." 

The  phrase,  inspired  by  jealousy,  was  an  unfortunate 
one.     She  felt  tins,  even  as  she  uttered  it. 

"Mevrouw,"  said  Lossell  stiffly,  "you  forget  yourself. 
Or  rather,  Judith,  you  are  a  fool.  Mind  this,  it  is  neither 
your  interest,  nor  that  of  your  children,  to  estrange  Elias. 
Some  day,  perhaps,  you  will  be  glad  enough,  both  you  and 
your  children,  to  live  in  liis  house,  and  to  eat  of  his  bread. 
Good-night " — and  he  walked  out  of  the  room  with  the 
happy  consciousness  of  having  gained  the  victory  at  least 
once  in  his  life. 

Some  things  are  praised  for  their  sweetness,  and  some 
for  their  rarity.  A  husband's  triumphs  belong  to  the 
latter,  not  to  the  former,  class. 

He  was  resolved  not  to  leave  the  boy  alone  in  a  foreign 
country.  He  fetched  him  back  without  another  word  of 
excuse  or  explanation.  But  he  did  not  immediately  bring 
him  home.  "  Elias  shall  decide  for  himself,"  he  said.  "  He 
shall  do  what  he  likes  best."  But  how  to  make  him  under- 
stand ?  There  lay  the  difficulty  ;  for  the  poor  little  patient 
had  sunk  into  a  state  of  apathy.  He  was  rapidly  losing  his 
touch,  such  as  it  was,  of  the  outer  world.  Walled  in  on 
every  side,  he  began  to  succumb  to  the  hopelessness  of  try- 
ing to  look  out.  His  eager  questioning — at  first  a  very  tor- 
rent of  anxious  entreaty — was  dwindling  into  one  ceaselessly- 
repeated,  unanswerable,  "  When  will  the  doctor  make  me 
see  again  ?  "  Those  about  him  grew  to  yearn  for  the  stream 
of  appeals  they  had  formerly  dreaded  as  they  watched  him 
sitting  silent,  mournful,  hour  after  hour,  with  only  the  re- 
iterated interruption  of  that  slowly-decreasing  hope.  And 
then  even  that  restless  flicker  sank  low,  and  for  long 
periods  he  would  not  speak  at  all. 

A  few  days  after  the  catastrophe,  Johanna  suddenly 
snatched  up  her  unfinished  harness,  and  began  vehemently 


"THUNDER  "-STORMS.  47 

knitting  at  it.  She  had  been  struck  by  the  thought  that 
though  Elias  could  no  longer  lead  the  way  as  horse,  ho 
might  still  act  the  part  of  coachman.  In  this  manner  she 
would  perhaps  succeed  in  rousing  him  to  a  little  exercise ; 
for  as  yet  he  shrank  back  from  all  contact  with  the  outer 
world,  and  would  creep  brooding  into  a  corner  when  they 
came  to  fetch  him  for  a  walk.  He  tore  off  the  cap  he  felt 
placed  on  his  head,  and  cried  out  that  he  would  wear  no 
more  caps  till  the  doctor  made  him  see  again.  Johanna 
came  to  him,  having  finished  the  Avork  in  a  hurry,  and  put 
the  ends  of  the  reins  in  his  hands.  She  had  removed  the 
bells  which  she  had  first  added  at  his  express  desire.  He 
had  been  very  particular  about  those  bells.  "  For  though  I 
don't  hear  them,  I  can  see  they  are  where  they  ought  to 
be,"  he  had  repeatedly  said.  Now  she  cut  them  off  with  a 
weary  sigh.  "  He  will  prefer  to  know  they  are  no  longer 
there,"  she  said  to  herself.  But  she  was  mistaken.  She 
was  often  mistaken  at  first ;  and  it  took  even  her  yearning 
affection  some  time  to  find  out  the  idiosyncrasies  of  a 
peculiar  case  like  Elias's.  Hendrik  Lossell  noticed  this. 
He  noticed  many  things  in  those  days  of  indecision, 
anxious,  waiting,  longing  to  do  the  best  for  the  afflicted 
child  who  persisted  in  living  on,  to  his  own  detriment  and 
that  of  them  all.  "  It  wants  a  lot  of  love,"  said  the  love- 
less father  to  himself,  with  a  pang  of  self-reproach.  He 
thought  of  his  smooth,  self-satisfied  wife,  and  of  chubby, 
happy  Henkie  and  Ilubbie.  How  could  he  bring  yonder 
wreck  among  them  ?  And  yet  how  dare  he  thrust  from  the 
door  of  his  house  its  rightful  lord '? 

Yes  ;  let  there  be  no  secrets.  Secrets  are  only  clumsy 
aids  to  interest,  and  this  story  shall  carefully  avoid  them. 
It  does  not  require  them,  for  it  is  a  true  story,  Hendrik 
Lossell  might  be  a  great  merchant,  but  wretched  little  Elias 
was  the  only  rich  member  of  the  family. 

When  Johanna  brought  him  the  harness,  he  immediately 
felt  for  the  bells,  and  an  expression  of  pain  came  over  his  face. 


48  GOD'S  FOOL. 

He  realized  why  she  had  removed  them ;  and  a  little 
querulously  he  bade  her  put  them  back.  And  so  this  rough 
peasant  woman  also  learnt,  step  by  step,  her  lesson  of 
devotion — the  devotion  of  her  life.  She  was  barely  thirty 
when  she  returned  to  her  post  as  Elias's  nurse.  She  never 
deserted  him  afterwards. 

The  lad  allowed  her  to  persuade  him,  by  caresses,  to 
creep  out  into  the  open  air  with  her.  But  the  reins  were  a 
failure ;  for  he  stumbled  forward  in  his  darkness  and  his 
uncertainty,  and  fell  and  cut  his  face.  And  again  Johanna 
had  to  make  a  discovery — that  the  blind  must  learn  to  walk 
anew. 

Tonnerre,  also,  had  to  learn  the  lesson  that  his  friend 
could  run  no  more.  To  him  it  was  an  enigma,  and  he 
puzzled  over  it  with  many  growls.  At  last  he  gave  it  up, 
and  adapted  himself  to  circumstances,  which  had  been 
altered  Avithout  his  consent.  He  rolled  away  within  easy 
reach  on  the  floor ;  and,  actually,  Elias  felt  after  him.  And 
then  he  rolled  on  a  little  bit  farther,  and  again  a  little  bit ; 
and  Elias  rolled  in  the  same  direction,  and  grabbed  at  his 
tail  as  he  whisked  it  up  and  down.  And  then  Elias 
actually  laughed. 

It  was  for  the  first  time  in  several  days,  ever  since  his 
seizure.  Johanna  threw  her  apron  to  her  face,  and  once 
more  fled  from  the  room.  It  was  such  a  bright  little 
laugh. 

She  need  not  have  fled  from  those  sightless  eyes.  Un- 
doubtedly. But  one  of  the  last  things  for  her  to  realize  was 
the  fact  that,  if  Elias  was  unable  to  see  anything,  he 
could  not  see  her. 

Parting  from  Madame  Juberton  meant  parting  from 
Madame  Juberton's  dog.  And  here  a  serious  difficulty 
arose.  Neither  his  father  nor  Johanna  dared  inflict  new 
pain  upon  the  sufferer.  Yet  neither,  seeing  the  affection 
the  lonely  old  widow  lavished  upon  her  only  companion, 

f 


"THUNDER  "-STORMS.  49 

dared  at  first  suggest  a  separation  between  tliem.  Already 
Elias  had  asked  once  or  twice  what  was  to  become  of  Ton- 
nerre.  But  it  was  impossible  as  yet  to  make  him  under- 
stand other  signs  than  "  Yes  "  and  "  No."  He  knew  it,  and 
would  soon  abandon  all  hope  of  an  answer,  only  repeating 
his  question  from  time  to  time  lest  they  should  forget  it. 
And  once  he  had  suggested  timidly  that  perhaps  papa  might 
buy  the  dog.  He  had  always  been  a  child  of  great  delicacy 
of  feeling,  and  he  evidently  shrank  from  the  thought  of 
Madame  Juberton's  loss,  while  unable  to  bear  the  prospect 
of  his  own.  "  No,"  he  said,  after  a  moment,  as  if  arguing 
out  the  matter  with  himself.  "  Papa  can  not  buy  Tonnerre 
from  Madame  Juberton."    And  he  sighed. 

Papa,  however,  resolved  to  think  differentlya  bout  the 
matter.  He  went  to  the  landlady,  and  offered  her  twenty- 
five  francs  for  her  favourite.  The  old  lady  sat  ujj  in  her 
chair. 

"  No,  monsieur, "  she  said  ;  "  I  cannot  sell  Tonnerre. 
I  love  your  unfortunate  little  son,  but  Tonnerre  is  the  only 
friend  I  have  in  the  world." 

Two  pink  spots  spread  out  under  her  ears.  But  Hendrik 
Lossell  was  not  in  the  habit  of  noticing  such  signs  as  these. 
They  had  no  connection  with  business. 

"  I  will  give  you  fifty,"  he  said,  and  then — as  she  con- 
tinued to  stare  at  him  in  silence — "  well,  madam,  I  will 
make  it  a  hundred,  and  that  is  the  very  last  price  I  can 
offer.  It  is  six  times  his  value ;  but  I  am  grateful  for  your 
kindness  to  Elias,  and  the  child  is  attached  to  the  little 
animal.  You  cannot  in  reason,  madam,  do  otherwise  than 
admit  that  I  am  paying  an  utterly  disproportionate  sum 
for  him." 

"  The  price  of  the  dog,  Monsieur  the  Town  Councillor," 
said  Madame  Juberton  in  a  great  flutter,  "  is  three  hundred 
thousand  francs." 

She  made   him  a  very  low   curtsey,  and   disappeared 
from  his  sight. 
4 


50  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Yet  the  mercliaut  was  not  to  blame — not  from  his  point 
of  view.  His  oiler  had  been  as  noble  a  conquest  of  self  as 
a  Dutch  man  of  business  could  achieve.  To  deliberately 
offer  for  anything  on  earth — ay,  or  in  heaven — what  he 
believed  to  be  twice  its  value — four  times  its  value — six 
times  its  value — he  would  rather  have  had  any  number  of 
his  teeth  extracted,  like  that  Israelite  of  the  good  old  Plan- 
tagenet  times.  He  trod  his  most  sacred  convictions  under 
foot  for  the  child's  sake — never  mind  whether  the  sum  be 
little  or  large — and  having  slaughtered  his  commercial  self- 
respect  on  the  altar  of  paternal  affection,  he  was  left 
standing  gazing  blankly  at  the  faded  pattern  of  an  empty 
chair,  while  the  growls  of  the  insulted  quadruped  oozed 
towards  him  under  the  bedroom  door. 

Madame  Juberton  was  peeping  through  the  keyhole,  and 
waiting  for  him  to  go. 

There  was  no  more  talk  after  that  of  buying  Tonnerre. 
Elias  sent  for  him  constantly  now,  as  if  he  would  make  u]3 
for  the  approaching  separation,  and  he  sat  silent  in  a  corner 
for  hours  with  the  rough-haired  bundle  in  his  lap.  It  was 
only  during  their  brief  frolics  on  the  floor  that  he  seemed  to 
wake  to  any  consciousness  of  enjoyment,  and  even  then  he 
would  very  soon  desist  with  a  "  Papa,  when  is  the  doctor 
coming  again?    Does  he  think  I  am  better,  papa ? " 

Madame  Juberton  would  stand  watchiug  the  playmates. 
She  said  nothing.  Only  once,  when  Hendrik  Lossell  caught 
her  in  the  act,  she  broke  out  sharply : 

*'  I  do  not  approve  myself,  monsieur,  of  letting  children 
play  too  much  with  dogs." 

"  I  do  not  think,"  the  merchant  had  retorted,  "  that  this 
child  plays  too  much." 

Madame  repeated  those  words  several  times  to  herself  in 
the  course  of  the  day.  As  often  as  she  did  so,  she  carefully 
took  off  her  spectacles,  and  wiped  them,  and  put  them  on 
again.     And  she   gave  Tonnerre  a  lump  of  sugar.     That 


"THUNDER  "-STORMS.  51 

lump  of  sugar  came  upon  him  as  an  unpredicted  eclipse 
might  come  upon  an  astronomer.  It  reduced  all  his  cal- 
culations to  immediate  chaos.  For  he  only  got  lumps  of 
sugar  on  Sundays,  and  he  never  had  been  out  in  his  reckon- 
ing yet.  Perhaps  he  thought  that  the  Comtist  calendar  had 
been  introduced,  or  that  Madame  Juberton  had  altered  her 
religion. 

The  day  of  departure  arrived.  With  many  grumblings, 
and  a  few  tears,  Madame  Juberton  prepared  the  farewell 
meal  for  her  guests,  as  well  as  a  provision  of  cakes  and 
sweetmeats  for  Elias's  special  delectation  on  the  road.  The 
dear  child  must  eat,  she  said,  if  they  hoped  to  keep  up  his 
strength.  And  there  was  the  difficulty.  For  the  child  said, 
"  I  will  eat,"  and  then  left  his  plate  almost  untouched. 

As  they  sat,  equipped  for  their  journey,  the  remnants  of 
their  meal  on  the  table,  Madame  Juberton  hurried  in, 
bringing  with  her  the  final  chef  d^ceuvre  of  her  dessert — an 
enormous  pate — which  crowned  with  its  majestic  dome  of 
delicate  crust  the  largest  pie-dish  in  her  pantry.  It  was  her 
farewell  "  goodie  "  for  Elias,  the  last  of  a  stately  line,  but 
the  last. 

She  put  it  down  in  front  of  him,  and  placed  his  hand 
upon  it.  And  when  he  had  realized  what  it  was,  exclaim- 
ing, "  Oh,  what  a  higpdtL  I  never  can  eat  it  all,  madame ! " 
she  pressed  down  his  fingers,  down  through  the  crashing 
pie-crust,  into  something  soft,  and  slippery,  and  woolly. 
Something  tliat  snapped  at  those  fingers  and  then  licked 
them.  I  don't  think  the  something  bit  thom.  I  fancy  it 
understood. 

Madame  Juberton  has  never  taken  another  dog. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

STEPMOTHEES. 

"  And  noTv  what  next  ?  "  It  was  the  question  which 
Hendrik  Lossell  kept  repeatedly  putting  to  himself  as  he 
sat  opposite  the  child  in  the  train.  He  found  it  difficult  to 
look  at  that  miserable  face  without  a  sensation  of  petulant 
disgust.  However  ashamed  he  might  he  of  the  thought,  he 
could  not  entirely  suppress  a  feeling  of  anger  towards  the 
child  for  being  what  he  was. 

"  It  is  not  his  fault,"  he  said  to  himself  a  hundred  times 
over;  "but " 

He  hesitated.  The  expression  itself,  "  it  is  not  his 
fault,"  struck  him  in  the  face  with  a  momentary  tingle  of 
self-reproach. 

Elias  must  decide  for  himself  whether  he  would  rather 
return  home  or  remain  with  Johanna.  In  the  latter  case  a 
little  cottage  would  be  prepared  for  him  at  a  short  distance 
from  his  father's  house.     But  what  did  he  himself  prefer? 

"  Are  we  going  back  to  mamma  ?  "  he  had  asked  once — 
only  once. 

His  father  had  indicated  to  him  that  this  was  the  case. 
No  expression  of  feeling,  whether  pleasant  or  painful,  had 
been  called  to  his  face  by  the  news. 

Yet  Lossell  had  noticed  that  the  child's  countenance 
was  capable  of  expressing  many  changes  of  emotion.  And, 
most  remarkable  of  all,  it  had  soon  become  evident  that 
Elias  distinguished  the  touch  of  some  persons  whenever  or 
wherever  they  touched  him.     This  faculty  had  developed 


STEPMOTHERS.  53 

itself  extraordinarily  in  the  first  weeks  of  his  blindness ; 
but  he  had  always,  ever  since  he  had  lost  his  hearing,  mani- 
fested an  extreme  delicacy  of  nervous  perception.  If  Jo- 
hanna, for  instance,  stole  behind  him  and  laid  her  hand  on 
his  shoulder,  his  face  would  instantly  light  up  with  a  glad 
smile  of  recognition.  He  recognized  the  touch  of  her  hand 
among  all  others,  even  without  lifting  his  own  to  feel  it. 
They  tried  in  vain  to  mystify  him  on  the  subject.  The  only 
result  was  that  he  got  to  know  Madame  Juberton  also,  to 
that  worthy  lady's  inexpressible  delight. 

Elias  said  little  on  the  journey.  Only  now  and  then  he 
ejaculated  "  Tonnerre,"  and  the  accent  with  which  he  spoke 
the  word  would  have  amply  rewarded  the  widow  could  she 
have  heard  it.  He  had  been  very  angry  because  they 
wanted  him  to  travel  with  a  green  shade — a  useless  precau- 
tion of  the  Geneva  oculist's — and  he  had  torn  it  off  and 
kicked  it  from  him.  But  later  on  he  had  meekly  resumed 
it,  for  his  father  had  not  had  the  courage  to  disappoint  him 
when  he  asked  whether  it  would  do  his  eyes  good  and  make 
them  see  sooner  than  otherwise. 

As  they  neared  their  destination  Elias  seemed  to  awake 
from  his  apathy,  and  began  to  manifest  signs  of  agitation. 
He  crept  closer  to  Johanna,  and  nestled  up  against  her,  and 
then,  unexpectedly,  and  with  an  evident  effort,  he  asked 
whether  Johanna  was  going  to  stay. 

The  maid  looked  quickly  towards  her  master,  the  same 
question  palpitating  into  her  own  cheeks  with  a  flush  of 
burning  appeal.  How  often  had  she  longed  to  receive  a  re- 
sponse to  this  demand  of  her  heart !  Hendrik  Lossell  could 
hesitate  no  longer.  He  signed  to  the  nurse  to  press  her 
charge's  hand. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Elias  quietly,  "  I  could  not  do  without 
you,  Johanna,  as  long  as  I  am  like  this.  And  when  I  can 
see  again,  I  shall  come  and  visit  you  very  often,  as  often  as 
I  may." 

The  woman  could  only  press  his  hand  again,  and  cast 


54  GOD'S  FOOL. 

grateful  gLances  towards  the  merchant.     The  naive,  child- 
ish egotism  did  not  hurt  her  ;  it  was  only  natural. 

"  That  binds  me  to  one  condition  in  any  case,"  thought 
the  father.  "  Wlierever  the  boy  remains,  this  woman  must 
remain  with  him.  But  in  tlie  meantime,  and  as  long  as  he 
himself  makes  no  difficulties,  I  must  take  him  home, 
whether  Judith  likes  it  or  not." 

Judith  did  not  like  it.  Of  that  there  could  be  no  doubt. 
And  surely  it  was  impossible  altogether  to  disagree  with  her 
when  she  said  tliat  the  two  healthy,  noisy  children  and  their 
deaf  and  blind  half-brother  were  not  fitting  companions  for 
each  other.  She  stood  in  the  hall  with  the  martyred  air  of 
a  woman  who  is  resolved  to  have  her  own  way. 

A  female  servant  helped  Elias  to  alight.  "  Is  it  mam- 
ma ?  "  he  asked,  as  he  took  the  outstretched  hand. 

The  woman  pressed  his  fingers,  and  he,  mistaking  this 
pressure  for  the  sign  of  affirmation  to  which  he  had  now 
become  so  accustomed,  put  up  his  face  to  be  kissed.  The 
maid  stooped  down  and  kissed  him — almost  involuntarily. 

"  Jans  !  "  cried  Mevrouw  Lossell,  in  stern  indignation, 
from  the  top  of  the  steps.  The  housemaid  started  and 
blushed.  "  Bring  the  young  Heer  to  me,"  commanded  her 
mistress. 

And  Jans  carefully  guided  the  boy  to  his  stepmother, 
whose  outstretched  hand  he  took  indifferently,  thinking  she 
was  one  of  the  servants,  and  never  dreaming  of  putting  up 
his  cheek  again. 

"  Poor  child  ! "  said  Mevrouw,  not  without  some  genuine 
pity  at  the  actual  sight  of  her  stepson.  "  He  has  become 
completely  idiotic  already.  I  know  Pillenaar  always  feared 
it  would  end  like  that." 

"  Where  are  Henkie  and  Hubbie  ?  "  queried  Elias,  turn- 
ing his  sightless  eyes  as  if  he  would  look  for  them  in  the 
hall. 

"Not  so  idiotic,  after  all,"  thought  his  stepmother 
quickly.    "  He  does  not  ask  after  me  because  he  does  not 


STEPMOTHERS.  55 

care  to  know.  His  physical  condition  is  very  sad,  very  sad 
indeed.  But  he  never  had  an  amiable  character,  and  it  has 
been  altogether  warped  by  his  infirmities." 

Judith  Lossell  did  not  wish  to  be  unkind  to  her  step- 
child. Nor  was  she  unkind  to  him.  She  treated  him  with 
exemplary  forbearance.  She  kissed  him  cheerfully,  when 
kissing  was  unavoidable.  His  clothes  and  his  toys  were 
quite  as  good  as  Henkie's  and  Hubbie's.  Only  she  did  not 
love  him,  that  was  all. 

Do  not  let  us  be  unjust.  There  is  no  law  why  step- 
mothers should  love  their  husbands'  children.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  exists  every  reason  for  them  not  to  do  so.  If 
they  have  no  children  of  their  own,  they  are  jealous  of  the 
dead  woman  in  her  grave,  and  if  they  have  children  of  their 
own,  they  want  the  living  father  to  admire  their  children 
most.  If  the  father  doesn't,  then  jealousy  of  the  first  wife 
naturally  steps  in  again. 

There  is  no  reason,  if  you  come  to  think  of  that,  why 
anybody  should  love  anybody  else,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  don't, 
unless  the  other  person  is  a  bit  of  themselves,  either  by 
choice,  in  the  shape  of  passion,  or  by  fate,  in  the  shape  of 
birth.  And  this  intense  egotism  of  the  human  race  explains 
the  frantic  admiration  of  our  own  offspring  which  goes  by 
the  name  of  "  a  mother's  love,"  and  which  never  by  any 
chance  extends  to  anybody  else's  progeny.  Why  doesn't 
somebody  feel  a  mother's  love  for  somebody  else's  mother- 
less babe  ? 

No,  there  is  every  reason,  on  the  contrary,  why  we 
should  dislike  each  other  as  soon  as  we  begin  to  argue 
about  it.  For  in  all  of  us  the  disagreeable  largely  predomi- 
nates over  the  agreeable  side.  I  know  it  does  in  me,  be- 
cause I  have  frequently  been  assured  of  the  fact.  And  if 
you  are  not  as  certain  of  the  matter  in  your  case,  that 
merely  proves,  not  that  you  are  more  agreeable  than  I  am, 
but  that  my  friends  are  more  disagreeable  than  yours.  IVIore 
trutliful,  if  you  like,  but  I  sha'n't  scratch  out  my  word  be- 


56  GOD'S  FOOL. 

cause  you  prefer  a  synonym.  I  don't  know  your  friends, 
still,  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  possibility  of  their  being 
more  amiable  than  mine. 

If,  then,  the  disagreeable  predominates,  we  dislike  people 
as  soon  as  we  begin  to  argue  about  them.  Fortunately, 
wc  rarely  take  the  trouble  to  think  our  friends  out,  and  that 
accounts  for  our  retaining  them.  But  this,  nevertheless,  is 
the  whole  solution  of  the  stepmother  question.  A  step- 
mother is  always  arguing  about  her  stepchildren's  right  and 
wrong.     She  never  argues  about  her  own  children. 

If  she  is  a  good  woman,  she  will  do  all  she  can  to  per- 
suade herself  that  she  is  harsh.  And  the  very  effort  will 
make  all  the  blemishes  stand  out  more. 

I  heard  a  good  soul  say  the  other  day  that  a  friend  of 
hers  must  be  fond  of  her  stepchildren,  because  she  was  so 
very  kind  to  them — kinder  frequently  than  to  her  own.  As 
if  she  would  have  been  so  very  kind  to  them  if  she  had  loved 
them !  As  if  any  mother  was  ever  kind  to  her  own  chil- 
dren !  There  are  plenty  of  unkind  mothers,  mind  you;  but 
there  never  yet  was  a  mother  who  was  "  kind." 

There  was  a  lady  once  who  said  to  her  little  daughter,  as 
they  came  out  of  the  pastrycook's  : 

"  Give  that  remnant  of  tart  to  yon  poor  little  girl,  dar- 
ling !  you  have  had  more  than  is  good  for  you  already,  and 
you  know,  besides,  that  you  don't  care  much  for  this  sort." 

"Thank  you,  kind  lady!"  said  the  street-girl,  as  she 
seized  on  the  cake.  And  she  was  right — that  lady  was 
"  kind." 

There  is  another  wide  field  which  lies  next  to  this  one  of 
the  world's  stepmothers,  a  far  wider  field,  whose  sterility 
can  be  demonstrated  in  the  same  manner ;  it  belongs  to  the 
world's  mothers-in-law.  We  have  to  do  here  with  another 
form  of  the  very  identical  disease,  but  we  are  not  going  to 
speak  of  it,  because  that  would  lead  to  digressions,  and 
digressions  are  excrescences,  and  excrescences  are  faults. 

A  digression  already !    Nay,  this  has  been  anything  but 


STEPMOTHERS.  5Y 

a  digression — it  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the  character  of 
Judith  Lossell  and  her  relation  to  the  hero  of  the  tale. 

Yet  it  is  an  awful  thought — one  word  only ;  forgive  it — 
it  is  a  thought  which  must  trouble  many  a  thinking  man  as 
he  lies  upon  his  bed  through  the  long  hours  of  the  night — 
that,  while  but  few  people  are  troubled  with  stepchildren, 
almost  everyone  possesses — or  is  possessed  by — a  mother-in- 
law. 

For  shame !  this  is  cjnical  talk  Avhich  leaves  no  one  the 
better  for  its  utterance — except,  perhaps,  the  cynic.  But  if 
that  be  true,  it  is  an  impertinence  here.  And  therefore 
peccavi.  If  the  fire  will  but  cease  smoking,  and  the  tea- 
kettle commence  singing,  if  that  rat-tat  at  the  front-door 
will  but  bring  me — not  a  bill  I  thought  I  had  paid,  as  the 
last  one  did — but  a  letter,  let  us  say,  from  the  dear  old 
mother  at  home — my  mother — I  don't  care  tuppence  about 
anybody  else's — we  shall  have  no  more  cynical  talk. 

Judith  Lossell  was  very  kind  to  Elias,  all  the  kinder  be- 
cause she  was  resolved  to  remove  him  from  the  family  circle, 
and  "  place  him  under  proper  care." 

Oh,  by-the-bye,  dear  stepmother,  whoever  you  are,  who 
read  this,  don't  write  to  me  to  say  that  you  have  always 
loved  your  stepchildren  as  much  as  your  own.  I  know  you 
have.     I  didn't  mean  you. 

But,  despite  all  the  efforts  to  make  him  comfortable, 
Elias  was  not  happy  at  home.  They  could  not  procure  him 
happiness — that  was  natural — but  they  could  not  even  spare 
him  those  additional  annoyances  which  he  had  not  felt 
while  abroad.  On  the  evening  of  his  arrival,  after  he  had 
repeatedly  asked  for  them,  the  twins  were  brought  to  him 
half  asleep. 

"  I  disapprove  of  it,"  said  Judith  sharply — "  I  disapprove 
of  it  altogether.     The  children  are  just  going  to  bed.     This 


58  GOD'S  FOOL. 

is  not  the  moment  to  frighten  tlicm,  Ilendrik,  and  cause, 
perhaps,  a  lasting  estrangement." 

"  If  he  asks  for  them,  he  must  have  them,"  replied  the 
Town  Councillor  shortly.  And  he  stepped  across  the  room 
and  rang  the  bell. 

The  issue  proved  Mevi-ouw  Lossell  right.  Ilenkie  and 
Ilubbie,  called  down  at  so  unusual  a  moment,  shrank  away 
from  the  still  figure  sitting  unconscious  in  the  shade.  They 
hung  back— fortunately,  he  could  not  see  that— and  then, 
as  their  father  forcibly  pushed  them  forward,  they  shrieked 
out  in  abject  terror— fortunately,  he  could  not  hear  that. 

"  I  will  not  have  it,  Hendrik,"  cried  Mevrouw  Lossell, 
starting  up  with  indignant  eyes.     Her  husband  hesitated. 

"And  the  boys?  When  are  they  coming  to  see  me?" 
asked  Elias  again,  speaking  out  into  the  void,  as  was  his 
habit — what  else  could  he  do?  That  question,  suddenly 
issuing  from  the  living  tomb  before  them,  even  as  they 
were  unwillingly  drawing  nearer  to  it,  completely  upset  the 
two  children.  They  broke  loose  from  their  father,  and  fled 
to  their  mother  for  protection,  screaming  to  be  taken  away. 
And  she  drew  them  towards  her  and  out  of  the  room,  leav- 
ing Hendrik  Lossell  standing  undecided,  staring  stupidly  at 
the  wreck  of  his  eldest  son. 

Elias,  though  unable  to  realize  this  and  similar  scenes, 
soon  began  to  understand  that  his  little  brothers  did  not 
care  to  play  with  him,  and  that  they  did  not  come  when  he 
called.  It  was  a  great  trouble  to  him,  but  he  retreated  into 
his  solitude  with  all  the  sensitiveness  of  disease.  He  shared 
that  solitude  with  Johanna  and  Tonnerre.  The  last-men- 
tioned personage,  unfortunately,  had  merited  disgrace  by 
his  aggressive  behaviour  towards  Mevrouw  Lossell's  fluffy 
lapdog.  He  had  growled  at  the  lapdog,  and  when  the  lap- 
dog  growled  back,  he  had  flown  at  him.  Elias,  alone  in  the 
room  with  them,  had  remained  entirely  unconscious  of  the 
catastrophe.  And  his  stepmother,  descending  suddenly 
upon  the  combatants,  had  beaten  Tonnerre.     Of  this  also 


STEPMOTHERS.  59 

Elias  knew  nothing,  but  he  soon  found  out  that  his  friend 
was  not  happy  except  with  him. 

Johanna,  of  course,  was  impudent.  This  any  one  could 
have  foreseen.  It  was  inevitable  that  mistress  and  maid 
should  disagree  about  Elias  and  his  wants,  and,  as  Johanna 
was  a  "  menial,"  and  Judith  a  "  Mevrouw,"  there  could  not 
be  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  former  would  be  "impu- 
dent "  or  would  in  any  case,  find  herself  designated  as  such. 

So  Johanna  and  Elias  and  Tonnerre  soon  got  to  spend 
their  days  together  in  a  big  room  at  the  top  of  the  house 
which  had  been  set  aside  for  their  use.  There  was  not 
much  opportunity  for  out-door  life  now,  for  when  the  year 
is  dying  at  Clarens  it  has  been  dead  for  some  time  in  Hol- 
land, where,  in  fact,  its  health  has  never  been  very  robust. 
And  Elias  refused,  even  more  vehemently  than  before,  to  go 
out  into  the  streets,  now  he  was  back  in  a  place  where  every- 
body knew  him.  He  would  creep  down  the  garden-path 
occasionally — "  foot  by  foot,"  as  they  say  in  Holland — lean- 
ing on  his  nurse's  arm.  But,  for  the  most  part,  he  sat  up- 
stairs, immovable,  and  waited  for  the  doctor. 

And  the  doctor  came,  and  looked  very  learned,  and  ex- 
amined his  eyes,  and  felt  his  pulse. 

"  It  is  the  brain,"  said  the  doctor.     "  It  is  the  brain." 

The  sentence  was  not  a  long  one,  but  it  only  cost  half-a- 
crown,  for  doctors  are  not  expensive  in  Holland,  as  a  rule. 

"  And,  Johanna,  when  does  he  think  I  shall  see  again  ?  " 
asked  Elias,     "  Next  week  ?  " 

Constantly,  Johanna  found  herself  placed  between  si- 
lence and  a  lie. 

"  I  shall  tell  him,"  she  said,  "some  day.  Soon.  I  can- 
not agree  with  his  father.  Surely  it  is  much  better  he 
should  know." 

"  When  he  knows,  he  knows  forever,"  said  Ilendrik 
Lossell. 

The  merchant  grew  daily  more  tender-hearted  towards 


60  GOD'S  FOOL. 

his  cliild  under  the  influence  of  the  sjicctacle  of  the  servant- 
maid's  love. 

"  It  brings  lier  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  florins  and  her 
keep,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  And  what  a  lot  she  supplies 
for  the  money  !     It  is  a  cheap  thing,  is  love  !  " 

Ah,  indeed,  dear  merchant,  it  is  a  cheap  thing,  is  love — 
the  cheapest  thing  on  earth — and  the  one  we  pay  most 
dearly  for,  when  the  final  reckoning  comes. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

COUSIN  COCOA. 

And  tlien  Mevrouw  Lossell's  cousin  came  to  see  Elias, 
the  chocolate-manuf acturess.  She  was  very  self-confident  and 
imj)ortant,  was  this  lady,  and  that  seems  only  natural,  for 
her  husband's  chocolate  was  the  very  best  in  the  world,  as  is 
the  chocolate  of  everybody  who  manufactures  chocolate  at 
all.  Chocolate  and  cocoa  are  just  like  sweethearts.  Each 
is  better  than  all  the  others.  In  fact,  there  is  no  better ; 
there  is  only  everybody's  individual  best. 

Me\Touw  Lossell  did  not  fully  appreciate  Mevrouw  van 
Bussen's  sterling  qualities.  For  Mevrouw  van  Bussen's 
great  merit  consisted  in  knowing  better  than  all  her  neigh- 
bours what  was  good  for  them  and  their  children,  and  this 
admirable  characteristic  Mevrouw  Lossell  had  never  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  out.  Yet  Mevrouw  Lossell's  obtuseness 
in  no  way  diminished  Mevrouw  van  Bussen's  ardour.  The 
latter  lady,  in  fact,  only  pulled  all  the  more  energetically  in 
the  right  direction,  the  more  she  saw  infatuated  beings  turn 
towards  the  wrong  one. 

"  There's  none  so  blind  as  those  that  won't  see,"  she  said, 
when  they  carried  off  Elias  to  Clarens. 

And  she  also  said  it  when  they  brought  him  back  again. 
She  meant  Elias's  stepmother,  not  Elias. 

"  I  shall  go  and  call  on  Judith  Lossell  this  afternoon," 
said  tliis  good  lady  to  her  husband  at  breakfast.  "  There 
are  a  hundred  other  things  I  ought  to  do,  undoubtedly,  but 
I  shall  leave  them  all  and  go  and  call  on  Judith  Lossell." 


G2  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  I  sliould  do  what  I  ought  to,"  remarked  her  husband 
quietly. 

lie  was  a  very  worthy  man.  lie  had  never  looked  far- 
ther than  the  tip  of  his  own  nose ;  and  it  was  a  short  one. 

"  I  mean  '  ought  to,'  if  I  consulted  my  own  conven- 
ience," retorted  Mevrouw  van  Bussen  ;  "  but  I  rarely  find  oc- 
casion to  do  that." 

"  Can't  always  neglect  it,"  said  the  chocolate-maker,  with 
his  mouth  full. 

"  If  you  mean  to  insinuate,  Titus,  that  I  do  not  look  after 
my  own  household,"  flashed  out  his  wife,  "  I  can  only  ad- 
vise you  to  go  and  stay  for  three  days  with  the  Lossells.  I 
only  advise  you  to.  And  she  with  her  two  children  and  a 
half  to  my  ten ! " 

"  Why  should  I  go  and  stay  with  them  when  we  live  in 
the  same  town,  Amelia  ?  "  asked  Titus.  "  I  wish  you  would 
give  me  some  more  tea.  And,  if  you  are  going,  you  might 
take  Elias  a  box  of  chocolates.  I'll  send  you  one  up  from 
the  office." 

"  Never !  "  cried  Mevrouw,  energetically  pouring  out  the 
tea.  "  That  Avoman  would  say— behind  my  back — that  I 
had  poisoned  the  child.  I  know  she  sent  for  a  tin  of  Van 
Houten's  cocoa  the  other  day  from  the  grocer's.  I  know  she 
did,  for  my  sister  Waalwyk's  cook  heard  it  from  the  Over- 
est's  servant,  who  was  in  the  shop  at  the  time." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Van  Bussen  good-naturedly.  "  Ours 
is  the  best.  Van  Ilouten  is  well  enough  when  you  can't  get 
ours." 

By-the-bye,  a  strange  misfortune  befell  our  good  friend 
Van  Bussen  the  other  day.  He  had  paid  the  Koopstad 
Tramcar  company  a  swinging  price  to  have  boards  put  up 
outside  all  their  trams  with  "Van  Bussen's  Cocoa  is  the 
best "  in  enormous  letters.  And  when  the  contract  had  been 
signed  and  sealed,  and  made  hard  and  fast  for  a  twelve- 
month, there  came  his  hated  Eotterdam  rival,  and  he  paid 


COUSIN  COCOA.  63 

the  company  a  still  swinginger  price  to  have  his  boards  put 
up  just  under  the  other  man's.  And  on  these  boards  was 
written  in  yet  more  enormous  letters :  "  When  you  can't 
get  Van  Swink's." 

The  com.pany's  shareholders  now  all  drink  Van  Swink's 
concoction.  He  says  in  his  advertisements  that  his  cocoa  is 
'  grateful.'  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  that  may  mean,  but  it 
is  certain  that  the  shareholders  are. 

"  I  shall  not  make  any  allusion  to  her  unthankfulness," 
said  Mevrouw  van  Bussen  to  herself,  as  she  marched  off  to 
her  cousin's.  She  was  alluding  to  Judith  Lossell's  pur- 
chase of  the  rival  brand  ;  "  I  should  consider  it  beneath  me 
to  do  so.  And  it's  her  loss,  not  mine,  if  she  ruins  her 
children's  healths.  On  my  part,  I  will  do  what  I  can  for 
them.  '  Strive  to  do  good,  and  you'll  learn  to  do  better,' 
as  the  Domine  said  so  beautifully  last  Sabbath.  But 
Judith  doesn't  even  strive.  I  wish  Titus  would  go  to 
church  with  me  more  regularly.  He  says  it  interferes  with 
his  Sunday  rest.     And  yet  it  needn't  do  that." 

Her  thin  lips  pinched  themselves  together  into  a  contor- 
tion which  no  one  but  a  connoisseur  in  facial  expression 
would  have  understood  to  be  a  smile,  as  there  rose  up  be- 
fore her  mental  vision  that  long  line  of  reposeful  faces 
which  nodded  down  at  her  for  a  couple  of  hours  every 
Sunday  from  the  pews  where  the  gentlemen  of  Koopstad 
sat  enthroned — such  of  them  as  went  to  church.  Male 
Hollanders  seldom  do,  for  the  service  consists  almost 
entirely  of  sermon,  and  they  probably  get  enough  of  that 
at  home  in  the  week. 

"Well,  how  do  you  do,  Elias?"  said  'Cousin  Cocoa,'  as 
the  little  Lossells  called  her.  She  had  just  been  ushered 
into  the  room  where  the  child  sat  alone  with  his  dog.  In 
spite  of  all  her  cleverness,  Mevrouw  van  Bussen  constantly 
forgot  either  the  boy's  deafness  or  his  blindness  in  her  occa- 


64  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sioiial  intercourse  Avith  liim.  Now,  however,  in  the  un- 
altered silence,  she  realized,  and  blushed  over,  her  mistake. 
She  was  one  of  those  peojile  who  are  so  convinced  of  their 
own  superiority  that,  to  appear  foolish,  even  to  themselves, 
for  ever  so  brief  a  moment,  is  absolute  suffering  to  them. 
Fortunately,  with  this  kind  of  people,  the  moment  is 
always  very  brief  indeed,  and  it  leaves  no  scar. 

She  stood  hesitating  near  the  door.  There  was  a 
strange  dog  on  Elias's  lap,  and  this  creature,  a  bundle  of 
odds  and  ends  of  brown  untidiness,  sat  up  and  growled  at 
her.  Mevrouw  van  Bussen  had  nerves  of  iron;  it  was 
something  else  in  her  then — her  calves,  perhaps — that  lived 
in  constant  terror  of  little  dogs.  We  are  all  of  us  afraid  of 
something — even  the  bravest — afraid  of  either  of  these  two  : 
the  indefinitely  great,  or  the  infinitesimally  small. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  said  Elias.  "  Come  and  feel  my  hand, 
please." 

He  could  always  perceive  the  entry  of  some  one  into  the 
room — the  opening  and  shutting  of  a  door,  or  any  other 
sudden  displacement  of  air  being  felt  by  him,  though  he 
could  not  hear  it. 

Mevrouw  van  Bussen  shrank  back  before  Tonnerre's  re- 
doubled growls,  and  Elias  vainly  repeated  his  question. 
Then,  suddenly  frightened  by  the  unexpected  continuance 
of  silence,  smitten  by  one  of  those  panics  which  complete 
helplessness  is  apt  to  produce,  he  started  from  his  chair, 
crying  out : 

"  To  the  rescue !  Danger !  Thieves  ! "  and  fell  over  a 
footstool  in  his  haste  to  get  away,  bringing  down  with  him 
in  his  fall  a  column  with  a  favorite  statuette  of  his  step- 
mother's. Tonnerre  flew  straight  at  Mevrouw  van  Bussen, 
who,  skipping  back  all  too  rapidly,  with  her  skirts  drawn 
tightly  round  her,  sat  down  suddenly  in  a  bowl  of  flowers. 

Upon  this  confusion  entered  Judith  Lossell,  as  placid  as 
concealed  vexation  can  manage  to  be — terribly  placid. 

"  Yes ;  the  child's  condition  is  a  great  affliction,"  she  said 


COUSIN  COCOA.  65 

smootlily,  as  she  lielised  up  her  dripping  consm  out  of  the 
pool  of  water  and  broken  glass.  "  I  am  sorry  you  could  not 
help  frightening  him,  as  you  say,  for  that  flower-basket  was 
given  me  by  my  sister  who  is  dead,  and  the  statuette 
had  been  my  mother's,  as  you  may  remember.  Not  that  it 
matters ;  only,  of  course,  one  gets  attached  to  these  things. 
Oh  no,  I  should  not  say  your  mantle  was  entirely  spoiled,  not 
if  you  take  out  the  stained  part,  and  put  in  another  piece, 
although  I  fear  you  will  not  be  able  to  match  the  colour 
exactly — it  is  such  a — 2i—2)eculiar  colour.  Be  quiet,  do  ! " 
— here  she  turned  fiercely  on  Tonnerre,  who  had  never  left 
off  barking — "  that  miserable  animal  is  the  worry  of  my  life. 
Oh  yes ;  he  certainly  bites ! — he  nearly  killed  my  poor  little 
«  Pox  "—never  mind;  I  can't  help  it.  I  don't  fancy  he 
will  bite  you,  Amelia,  but  if  he  does,  you  must  bear  it." 

"  Judith ! "  cried  Amelia,  in  disgust  and  admiration. 
She  was  whisking  round  and  round  in  futile  efforts  to  get  a 
full  view  of  the  damage  to  her  mantle,  and  TonneiTe,  who 
believed  she  was  attempting  to  amuse  him,  was  whisking 
after  her  in  jumps  and  snaps.     She  stopped  suddenly. 

"  My  dear,  I  cannot  help  it.  I  am  not  the  master  of 
the  house,"  rejoined  Judith,  more  jilacidly  still.  She  had 
picked  up  Elias,  and  was  doing  her  best  to  reassure  him  by 
kisses  and  caresses.  This  was  her  duty,  and  she  fulfilled  it 
in  the  most  exemplary  manner.  Even  after  he  had  settled 
down  again  contentedly  on  the  sofa,  she  gave  him  two  more 
kisses  than  her  duty  required.  These,  therefore,  were 
supererogatory,  and  doubtless  were  written  down  as  such. 

Not  till  Tonnerre  had  been  turned  into — and  a  cane- 
bottomed  chair  had  been  fetched  out  of — the  hall  (for  not 
even  the  removal  of  the  mantle  had  rendered  this  latter  pre- 
caution superfluous)  did  Mevrouw  van  Bussen  resume  her 
efforts  to  enter  into  communication  with  little  Elias.  Then, 
over  however,  she  sat  down  by  his  side,  and  guided  his  hand 
her  face. 

Mevrouw  van  Bussen  had  the  bulbouscst  of  bulbous 


QQ  GOD'S  FOOL. 

noses.  As  soon  as  the  blind  child's  hand  reached  it,  he  ex- 
claimed iu  accents  partly  of  vexation  and  partly  of  amuse- 
ment : 

"  Why,  it's  only  Cousin  Cocoa,  mamma ! " 

The  reaction  from  the  alarm  he  had  just  experienced 
threw  him  completely  off  his  guard. 

The  chocolate-makeress  appreciated  neither  the  content- 
ment of  the  "  only,"  nor  the  humour  of  the  nickname  thus 
suddenly  flung  in  her  face.  She  was  smarting  with  the 
humiliation  of  her  cousin's  broken  crockery,  and  she  sprang 
delightedly  at  the  retaliation  of  a  grievance  of  her  own. 
She  let  go  little  Elias's  hand. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  perceive,  Judith,"  she  said,  bristling  up, 
"  that  you  encourage  your  children  to  speak  disrespectfully 
of  me.  I  have  always  considered  such  matters  from  a  very 
different  point  of  view.  When  my  children  began  to  speak 
of  Elias  here  as  '  Deafy,'  I  put  it  down  at  once  with  a 
high  hand,  though  he  could  not  even  hear  it,  and  I  whipped 
one  of  the  boys,  with  great  pain  (to  myself),  when  he  dis- 
obeyed me.  I  see  now  that  I  might  have  spared  my  wrath  ; 
not  that  I  wish  to  do  evil  lest  good  should  come,  but  it  is 
evident  that  you  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  punish  your 
children  for  the  faults  of  mine,  or  rather,  I  mean,  that  what 
is  a  punishment  for  my  children  should  be  a  fault  in  yours. 
I  mean  that  the  faults  of  my  punishment " 

"  Exactly,"  said  Judith,  in  her  clearest  voice. 

Mevrouw  van  Bussen  preferred  to  scramble  out  of  her 
muddle  as  quickly  as  possible. 

"  And  even  this  afternoon,"  she  went  on  excitedly,  "  I 
came  here,  only  actuated  by  the  sincerest  interest  in  that 
child's  welfare,  though  I  am  no  cousin  of  his,  whether 
Cocoa  or  otherwise  !  I  had  better  go,  Judith,  since  I  am  an 
object  of  derision  and  a  source  of  amusement.  Do  not, 
pray,  think  I  am  vexed  with  Elias;  I  pity  him  far  too 
much  for  that,  but  I  certainly  am  of  opinion  that  your 
children " 


COUSIN  COCOA.  67 

"  Of  course,  if  you  wish  to  go,  I  shall  not  detain  you," 
interrupted  Mevrouw  Lossell,  as  her  visitor  rose  while  speak- 
ing, "  but  I  should  advise  you  to  consider  the  desirability 
of  waiting  till  your  dress  is  dried.  The  stain  shows,  you 
know — ahem — when  you  get  up." 

Mevrouw  van  Bussen  sat  down  again  with  great  rapidity, 
and  said  : 

"  I  cannot  understand,  my  dear  cousin,  why  you  have 
never  tried  the  experiment  of  treating  Elias's  case  homoeo- 
pathically." 

"  You  remember,  dear  cousin,"  replied  Judith,  "  that  I 
experimented  on  Henkie's  chilblains  homceopathically  at 
your  request.  I  gave  the  child  sips  of  vox  populi  and  bella- 
donna alternately  every  half  hour  for  a  week,  and  somebody 
was  always  upsetting  the  tumblers  with  their  paper  covers, 
and  making  messes  all  over  the  room." 

Me\Touw  Lossell's  eyes  wandered,  perhaps  involuntarily, 
to  the  stain  on  the  carpet. 

"  Not '  vox  populi,'  '  nux  vomica,' "  said  Mevrouw  van 
Bussen,  with  a  great  air  of  superiority.  "  Besides,  the  chil- 
blains got  better." 

"  Yes,  when  the  warm  weather  came  round ;  but  we 
had  left  off  the  medicines  long  before  that." 

"  After  all,  the  homceopathic  system  is  the  only  rational 
one,"  said  the  chocolate-makeress,  again  branching  off  to 
smoother  ground.  " '  Simile  syllabubs,'  as  my  doctor  al- 
ways says,  which,  you  know,  means  '  cure  like  with  like.' 
Now,  the  reasonableness  of  that  must  strike  everyone  imme- 
diately.    It '  jumps  to  the  eyes.' " 

"Why?"  asked  Judith. 

"  Oh,  because — because Of  course,  it  is  a  law  of 

nature,  like  gravitation,  and  all  that,  you  know !  And  I 
think — not  that  I  wish  to  give  you  any  advice  on  the  mat- 
ter— that  the  system  might  well  be  tried  on  Elias." 

"  I  can't  make  him  blinder,"  said  Mevrouw  Lossell,  with 
a  half -suppressed  yawn.     "  You  could  only  put  it  into  prac- 


eg  GOD'S  FOOL. 

tice  on  a  one-eyed  person.  Elias  hasn't  got  any  eyes  left  to 
put  out,  poor  boy  !  " 

"  You  willfully  misapprehend  me,  Judith.  You  ought 
to  give  him  phosphorus  for  his  brain,  and  aconite  for  his — 
well,  at  any  rate,  certainly  aconite." 

"  Oh,  u]\doubtedly  aconite  ! "  said  Judith. 

"  It  is  your  business,  after  all,  and  not  mine,  if  the  child 
gets  better.  Not  but  that  I  would  do  anything  in  my  pow- 
er, anything — for  I  have  ten  children  of  my  own — only  I 
am  afraid  of  appearing  to  meddle,  I  have  spoken  to  my 
homoeopathic  doctor  about  the  case,  but  he  refuses  to  give 
an  opinion  until  he  has  seen  the  patient.  So  I  thought  you 
might  perhaps  step  down  to  his  house  with  Elias  one  of 
these  days.    His  hours  are  from  one  to  three." 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  Mevrouw  Lossell  negligently.  "  I 
will  put  him  down  on  my  list.  I  shall  hardly  be  able  to  get 
to  him  this  week,  because  I  already  have  nine  physicians, 
previously  recommended,  and  a  magnetism-man  and  a 
somnambulist,  not  to  speak  of  Holloway's  pills,  and  a  family 
ointment.  But  as  soon  as  your  man's  turn  comes  round,  I 
shall  give  Elias  his  dose  of  aconite.  Do  you  think  I  might 
give  it  him  before  the  doctor  says  he  is  to  have  it,  or  do  you 
deem  it  absolutely  necessary  to  wait  till  after  ?  " 

"  Judith,"  replied  Mevrouw  van  Bussen,  "  I  will  trouble 
you  to  ask  your  man  to  get  me  a  cab.  When  you  feel  sorry, 
you  had  better  come  and  tell  me  so." 

"  I  feel  sorry  already,"  said  Judith — "  very  sorry."  And 
again  her  eyes  wandered  towards  the  dark  stain  on  the 
floor. 

"  I  know  all  about  your  goings  on,  Judith,"  continued 
Amelia,  again  making  for  the  door.  "  If  you  think  Elias's 
health  will  improve  upon  inaction  and  Van  Ilouten's  cocoa, 
you  will  find  out  your  mistake  when  it  is  too  late." 

"  I  know,"  said  Judith,  "  Van  Bussen's  is  the  best." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ELIAS   HEARS — THE  TRUTH. 

"  Mamma,"  said  Elias  presently,  from  his  corner  in  the 
great  old-fashioned  horse-hair  sofa ;  "  Mamma,  do  you 
know  I  feel  sure  Cousin  Cocoa  was  cross  because  I  called  her 
Cousin  Cocoa.  I  didn't  mean  to,  but  I  was  so  surprised,  I 
quite  forgot.  I'm  very  sorry.  I  should  have  liked  to  tell 
her  so,  only  I  didn't  dare." 

From  her  seat  by  the  window,  Mevrouw  Lossell  looked 
round  at  the  child  Avithout  moving.  She  was  vexed  with 
him  for  tumbling  about  and  breaking  things.  To  tell  the 
truth,  he  had  already  occasioned  several  of  these  smashes,  for 
his  blindness  was  too  recent  as  yet  not  to  betray  him  from 
time  to  time.  "  I  do  my  best,"  he  said,  "  but  somehow  the 
things  get  out  of  their  distances." 

Mevrouw  Lossell  was  in  a  very  bad  temper,  not  with  him 
so  much  as  with  fate,  and  with  Mevrouw  van  Busscn.  She 
was  very  cruelly  used,  she  thought,  in  being  saddled  with 
this  dead  weight.  Of  course  she  was  sorry  for  the  child. 
She  was  extremely  sorry.  But  did  that,  she  asked  her  hus- 
band a  dozen  times  over,  forbid  her  being  sorry  for  herself  ? 
When  a  man  is  egotistical,  he  sometimes  feels  ashamed  of  it. 
When  a  woman  is  egotistical,  she  never  even  notices  that 
she  is. 

But  the  disease  is  much  rarer  in  females,  especially  under 
a  certain  age. 

"  Yes,  I  wish  I  could  have  told  her,"  continued  Elias  ; 
"  and,  mamma,  I  am  very  sorry  I  broke  the  vase." 

"  He  is   a   good  child,"  soliloquized  Mevrouw  Lossell, 


70  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  and  he  deserves  to  be  liappier  than  we  can  make  him  here. 
I  shall  tell  Ilcndrik  so  once  more  to-night.  I  fonnd  him 
crying  again  yesterday,  because  the  children  wouldn't  play 
Avith  him.  They  canH  play  with  him  !  IIow  can  lie  play, 
I  should  like  to  know  ?  It  is  very  sad  for  us  all ;  but  surely 
common  sense  tells  everyone  but  Ilendrik  that  the  boy  will 
be  better  off  outside  the  house." 

In  the  meantime  Elias  went  on  speaking,  partly  to  him- 
self. 

"  I  knew  she  was  angry,  because  I  can  feel  it,"  he  said. 
"  I  feel  it  somehow,  when  people  are  very  cross  with  me,  or 
when  they  are  very  good  to  me.  Only,  sometimes,  I  make 
mistakes.  Sometimes,  for  instance,  I  fancy  you  are  cross 
with  me,  when  I  know  I  haven't  done  anything  wrong,  and 
then  you  come  and  kiss  me,  and  so  you  see  it's  all  an  idea 
of  mine.  I  don't  like  to  think  people  are  cross  with  me, 
when  they're  not,  mamma;  and  I  suppose  it's  very 
naughty." 

Judith  Lossell  went  over  and  kissed  her  stepson.  The 
colour  had  deepened  upon  her  substantial  face. 

"  It's  nice  that  I  can  speak  to  people,"  said  Elias,  with  a 
weary  sigh,  "  but,  what's  the  use,  when  nobody  can  ever 
speak  to  me  ?  I  want  somebody  to  sj)eak  to  me  very  badly. 
Nobody  has  said  anything  for  ever  so  long." 

It  was  a  yearning  to  which  he  had  given  utterance  again 
and  again,  but  this  time  the  words  were  barely  out  of  his 
mouth  when  he  started  up,  his  pale  cheeks  aglow  with 
excitement,  his  whole  frame  trembling  with  the  anxiety 
of  the  idea  that  possessed  him. 

"  I  must  go  upstairs  to  Johanna,"  he  stuttered.  "  Please, 
please  open  the  door,  mamma.  I  can  quite  well  find  my 
way  if  you  will  let  me  out,  I  have  got  something  to  ask  her 
immediately.     No ;  I  can't  wait  till  she  comes  to  fetch  me. 

Oh,  mamma,  do  you  know  I  think  I  might Please, 

please  let  me  out.  Yes  ;  I  have  got  the  balustrade.  No,  I 
sha'n't " 


ELIAS  HEARS— THE  TRUTH.  71 

He  was  gone. 

He  fell  up  the  stairs  in  his  haste,  crying  "  Johanna ! 
Johanna !  "  through  the  house,  and  as  she  ran  out  on  to  the 
landing  to  meet  him,  he  threw  himself,  gasping  for  breath, 
into  her  arms. 

"  Quick  ! "  he  cried  ;  "  make  A  against  my  cheek,  Johan- 
na. A  with  your  fingers.  A,  B,  C.  Yes,  yes.  Quick  !  put 
your  hand  so,  up  against  my  face.  A,  B,  C.  Not  so  fast. 
How  stuj)id  you  are  !  D.  D  now  ;  D,  E.  Oh,  Johanna ! 
I  can  hear  everything  you  say.  I  can  hear  quite  well  like 
that.  Go  on  ;  say  something.  Quick  !  quick !  Oh,  Johan- 
na !     I  am  sure  I  can  hear  like  that." 

He  burst  into  tears,  but  still  he  held  up  his  sightless  face, 
with  the  big  drops  coursing  down  it,  and  pressed  her  hand 
against  his  cheek.  And  she,  in  the  agitation  of  the  moment, 
could  think  of  nothing  to  say  but  "  stockings,"  and  "  stock- 
ings "  she  said,  gazing  steadfastly  down  at  the  unfinished 
one  lying  in  her  lap. 

"  K,"  cried  Elias,  spelling  out  the  Dutch  word  as  she 
slowly   formed  the  letters,  laying  her    hands    against    his 

cheek — "  K — 0 — U Not  so  fast.      Do  it  over  again. 

U — S.  You  said  'stockings,'  Johanna.  What  made  you 
say  '  stockings '  ?  " 

He  broke  away  from  her,  dancing  round  the  table  as 
best  he  could,  and  crying : 

"  Stockings ;  what  made  you  say  stockings  ?  But  I  un- 
derstood it  quite  well.     I  shall  be  able  to  hear  them." 

He  fell  up  against  something  in  his  triumphant  danc- 
ing, and  tumbled  back  into  Johanna's  arms,  sobbing  as  if 
his  heart  would  break. 

"  Tell  me  quick,"  he  sobbed,  "  why  you  said  stockings. 
"What  made  you  say  it,  Johanna  ?  " 

It  was  the  first  word  except  "  Yes  "  and  "  No  "  he  had 
heard  for  several  weeks. 

The  woman  could  only  spell  back  to  him  "  Nothing." 
Elias  understood  her. 


Y2  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"Stockings?  nothing  ?"  He  grew  impatient.  "What 
do  you  mean,  Johanna  ?  Why  can't  you  say  something  to 
me  ?  I  want  dreadfully  to  hear  you  say  something  to  me. 
Oh,  Johanna,  how  unkind  you  are !  " 

She  folded  him  to  her  breast  for  only  answer,  and  it  was 
not  till  several  minutes  later  that  she  began  more  calmly 
to  practice  with  Elias  this  spelling  of  the  deaf  and  dumb 
alphabet  where  he  could  feel,  instead  of  seeing  it.  Presently 
she  selected  the  side  of  his  neck  in  preference  to  his  cheek, 
and  this  communication  once  being  established,  she  soon 
agreed  with  him  upon  slight  alterations  and  simplifications 
better  suited  to  these  peculiar  circumstances.  That,  how- 
ever, was  the  result  of  later  considerations,  when  Elias  had 
already  got  to  understand  whatever  was  said  to  him.  It 
was  not  long  before  anyone  who  took  the  trouble  to  master 
these  signs  could  converse  with  the  boy,  and  soon  he  read 
them  far  quicker  than  they  were  given.  And  thus  one 
great  cloud  rolled  away  from  his  darkness,  and  the  stars 
came  out  again  in  the  night. 

"  And,  Johanna,"  he  said,  when  the  first  tremor  of  dis- 
covery was  over,  and  he  sat  enjoying,  as  it  can  but  rarely  be 
enjoyed,  the  full  delight  of  question  and  answer,  "  now  tell 
me  all  the  doctor  says  about  my  eyes.  It  is  that  I  have 
been  wanting  to  know  most  of  all  during  the  whole  long 
time.  And  nobody  ever  told  me — not  really.  Of  course, 
he  says  I  shall  get  better.  But  does  he  think  it  will  be 
soon  ?    Does  he  think  they  are  better  already  ?  "    * 

"  No,  dear,  you  are  not  better,"  Johanna  spelled  back  in 
return,  with  shaking  fingers.  "  You  must  not  think  too 
much  about  geting  better,  Elias." 


CHAPTER  X. 

DR.    PILLENAAR'S   REVEISTGE. 

For  the  next  fifteen  years  Elias  Lossell  lived  with 
Johanna  and  a  middle-aged  under-servant  in  a  little  cottage 
outside  the  town,  where  his  father  came  and  saw  him  daily. 
His  stepmother  came  often — not  daily — and  his  brothers 
came  also,  from  time  to  time.  The  under-servant  changed 
once  or  twice  as  the  years  passed  on  ;  Johanna,  of  course, 
remained,  and  the  flow  of  Elias's  life  was  almost  as  a  low- 
land stream  under  an  overhanging  willow. 

It  had  been  decided  that  he  should  go  and  live  thus 
not  long  after  intercourse  had  been  re-established  between 
him  and  the  outside  world.  Judith  Lossell  believed  to  her 
dying  day  (she  is  dead  ;  she  died  some  years  before  the 
great  catastrophe)  that  this  decision  was  the  result  of  the 
scene  between  her  and  her  husband  when  she  told  him — 
quietly,  as  was  her  manner,  and  without  any  screams  or 
tears — that  Henkie  and  Hubbie,  despite  their  tender  age, 
must  be  sent  to  boarding-school  as  soon  as  possible,  for  that 
the  gloom  of  Elias's  presence  was  ruining  their  infant 
livers — not  lives ;  it  isn't  a  misprint ;  but  livers.  Judith 
Lossell  said  so.  Neither  her  printer  nor  her  historian  is 
responsible  for  what  she  said.  If  the  chronicler  of  a  woman's 
many  words  were  responsible  for  all  their  foolishness,  there 
would  be  more — alas  !  no ;  there  are  enough  broken-brained 
geniuses  already.  There  would  be  no  chronicles  written 
at  all. 

Judith  Lossell,  hoAvever,  was  mistaken.  The  decision 
had  been  taken  without  any  regard  to  her  opinions,  and  it 


74  GOD'S  FOOL. 

had  been  taken  before  the  great  scone,  above-mentioned, 
came  on.  That  the  mcrcliant  had  allowed  his  wife  to  fight 
it  out.,  under  the  circumstances,  Avas  the  result  of  his  in- 
ability to  inform  her  of  his  reasons.  He  was  not  accus- 
tomed to  oppose  her,  and  he  positively  j)referred  her  to 
think  that  she  had  bullied  him  into  submission.  "Any- 
thing for  a  quite  life,"  said  this  Town  Councilor,  to  whom 
everybody  bent  except  his  consort,  but  none  the  less,  he 
stuck  to  his  original  resolution  that  Elias  himself  should 
indicate  what  he  preferred. 

And  this  was  how  the  matter  was  settled.  They  were 
alone  together  in  the  twilight,  after  dinner,  the  father  and 
son.  Henkie  and  Hubbie  had  just  been  sent  off  to  bed,  and 
their  mother  had  followed  "  to  tuck  them  in." 

The  merchant  went  over  and  spoke  to  the  child. 

"  You  can  always  perceive  when  Johanna  is  in  the  room, 
or  when  she  touches  you,  can  you  not?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  papa,''  said  Elias. 

"  And  can  you  when  your  mother  does  so  ?  " 

"  No,  papa." 

"  And  me— I  ?  " 

A  long  pause. 

"  Sometimes,  papa." 

And  so  Elias  went  to  live  with  Johanna.  And  Johanna 
played  with  him,  and  was  his  horse.  Tonnerre  also  played 
Avith  him.  Henkie  and  Hubbie  occasionally  came,  by  their 
father's  orders,  and  they,  too,  would  try  to  play  with  him. 
But  Tonnerre  did  not  approve  of  their  coming,  and  j)ersisted 
in  barking  at  their  shins. 

At  first,  a  master  was  procured  for  him  who,  without 
exactly  giving  what  could  be  described  as  lessons,  had  in- 
structions to  slip  into  his  conversation  such  scraps  of  the 
most  necessary  information  as  could  be  conveyed  in  this 
desultory  manner.  The  master  was  quite  equal  to  the  task 
thus  entrusted  to  him,  and  the  plan  would  undoubtedly 
have    worked    very  satisfactorily   had   Elias's    head    been 


DR.  PILLENAAR'S  REVENGE.  75 

stronger.  But  he  grew  tired,  and  he  could  not  remember. 
That  was  the  worst  of  all.  lie  could  only  remember  what 
he  knew  by  heart,  what  he  had  known  for  years,  or  what 
constantly  repeated  itself  in  his  experience.  Sometimes  it 
almost  appeared  as  if  his  development  had  remained  station- 
ary with  the  recurrence  of  his  blindness.  And  then  again 
sometliing  would  come  out  which  would  prove  that  this  was 
not  the  case.  Yet  he  Avould  speak  of  the  autumnal  glories 
of  Clarens,  as  if  he  had  beheld  them  yesterday,  while  his 
teacher  Avould  vainly  ask  for  the  fiftieth  time  : 

"  Elias,  what  is  the  capital  of  France  ?  " 

An  attempt  to  teach  him  reading  and  writing,  accord- 
ing to  the  methods  employed  among  the  blind,  proved  a 
failure.  The  writing,  especially,  with  its  confusing  com- 
bination of  dots,  greatly  excited  and  fatigued  him.  At  the 
conclusion  of  one  of  these  lessons,  in  which  he  had  strained 
his  powers  to  the  vittermost  in  his  nervous  anxiety  to  suc- 
ceed, he  was  laid  prostrate  by  a  feverish  attack  which  caused 
the  frightened  Johanna  to  send  for  the  nearest  doctor,  and 
then  for  Hendrik  Lossell.  The  nearest  doctor  turned  out 
to  be  Elias's  old  friend,  Pillenaar.  He  came,  magnani- 
mously, and  he  was  in  the  sick-room  when  the  merchant 
hurriedly  entered  it. 

"  You ! "  cried  Lossell,  thus  suddenly  thrown  into  the 
presence  of  the  man  he  had  wronged. 

The  doctor  answered  only  by  a  repellent  gesture,  and 
continued  to  busy  himself  with  his  little  patient.  Hendrik 
Lossell  walked  away  to  the  window  and  drummed  his  fin- 
gers against  the  pane.  Presently  he  drew  near  again,  at- 
tracted against  his  will  by  the  silent  old  man  at  the 
bedside. 

"  Why  are  you  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  was  sent  for,"  replied  the  physician  quietly.  "  And 
a  physician  is  not  in  the  habit  of  asking  where  tliey  are 
taking  him,  ])ut  why  he  is  fetched."  He  spoke  witliout 
looking  up,  and  meanwhile  he  drew  from  under  the  patient's 


Y6  GOD'S  FOOL. 

arm  the  thermometer  which  had  been  resting  there,  and 
walked  with  it  towards  the  light. 

"  You  raimot  wish  well  to  me  or  mine,"  persisted  Lossell, 
"  nor  can  it  b.-  an  agreeable  thought  for  me  that  the  life  of 
one  of  my  cliildren  is  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who  probably 
thinks  he  owes  me  a  bad  turn." 

"  I  am  having  my  revenge,"  said  the  doctor  quietly,  as  he 
turned  back  to  the  bed. 

The  father  walked  up  and  down  for  some  moments  with 
hesitating  step.  Then  stopping  near  Pillenaar,  he  asked, 
with  a  visible  eliort : 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  are  hurting  the  child  ?  " 

The  doctor  paused  in  the  act  of  measuring  out  some 
drops,  and  looked  across  at  Lossell  with  eyes  full  of  tranquil 
scorn  :  "  Fool,"  he  said. 

The  merchant  received  the  word  right  in  his  face,  like 
a  well-aimed  snowball.  He  started  back.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  being  called  "  Worshipful  Sir." 

He  did  not  speak  again,  till  the  other  got  ready  to  go. 
Then  he  followed  him  down-stairs,  and  asked,  almost  timidly, 
as  they  were  nearing  the  hall-door : 

"  Is  the  child  very  ill  ?  " 

The  doctor  stopped  under  the  lamp,  in  the  act  of  shak- 
ing himself  into  his  overcoat :  "  No,"  he  said.  "  Not  now. 
The  fever  Tas  very  high  when  I  came,  but  we  have  already 
got  it  down  half  a  degree.  Did  I  not  tell  you  I  was  having 
my  revenge?  The  boy  will  get  better,  Mynheer  Lossell, 
but  there  will  be  no  more  lessons  for  him.  His  nurse  tells 
me  he  is  learning  to  read  and  write.  I  shall  stop  that.  I 
have  told  her  so.  I  shall  give  publicity  to  the  facts  that  I 
found  your  son  in  this  condition  and  that  I  have  forbidden 
your  continuing  to  'improve  his  mind.'  And  if  I  find 
that  you  disregard  my  advice,  I  shall  make  public  that  little 
conversation  of  ours  which  led  to  your  nearly  ruining  me  in 
the  mortgage  affair.  I  have  never  mentioned  it  to  anyone 
yet.     But  I  sha'n't  allow  you  to  make  away  with  this  un- 


DR.  PILLENAAR'S  REVENGE.  YY 

fortunate  son  of  yours.  Did  not  I  tell  you  that  I  was  hav- 
ing my  revenge  ?    Good  night." 

"  Stop,"  cried  the  wretched  father,  roused  by  these  un- 
merited, yet  excusable,  taunts.  "  You  wrong  me.  Before 
God,  you  wrong  me.  It  was  no  intention  of  mine  to  hurt 
the  child.  I  do  not  deny  that  I  would  rather  he  had  died 
when  he  was  first  stricken  down.  It  would  have  been  hap- 
pier, above  all  for  him.  If  you  think  these  years  of  wretch- 
edness have  been  preferable,  I  cannot  help  differing  from 
you.  I  was  angry  with  you,  chiefly  for  your  manner.  I 
was  unreasonable.  I  admit  it.  But  I  have  never  lifted  a 
hand  against  one  hair  of  his  head,  neither  then  nor  since  !  " 

The  doctor  had  stood  curiously  watching  Hendrik  Los- 
sell's  face. 

"  No,"  he  said,  when  the  merchant  ceased  speaking,  "  I 
dare  say  not.  You  are  not  one  of  those  who  kill,  only  one 
of  those  who  cause  to  die.  I  can't  fathom  your  whys  and 
your  wherefores,  Eight  Worshipful  Heer  Lossell,  but  I  know 
that,  for  some  reason  or  other,  you  would  rather  have  that 
poor  unfortunate  out  of  the  way — do  you  dare  deny  it  ?  " 

The  merchant  winced.  "  If  Providence  thought  fit  to 
call  him  to  a  happier  sphere,"  he  answered,  "  once  more, 
who  would  dare  wish  for  his  remaining  here  ?  " 

"  Providence ! "  interrupted  the  old  doctor  te?ti''y, "  Prov- 
idence !  That  is  only  another  word  for  '  timely  foresight.' 
Your  providence  provides  for  yourself,  Mynheer  Lossell. 
But  I  advise  it  to  look  out." 

"  I  swear  that  it  is  false,"  cried  Lossell  hotly.  "  And  to 
prove  to  you  that  you  wrong  me,  as  well  as  to  shield  myself 
from  your  attacks,  I  will  follow  your  instructions  in  all 
things  concerning  the  boy.  Nobody  else  shall  touch  him  in 
future.  He  has  always  retained  a  liking  for  you.  Doctor 
him  as  much  as  you  choose,  and  revenge  yourself  for  any 
wrong  I  may  have  done  you  by  charging  me  whatever  sum 
you  may  please.     Do  you  accept?" 

The  tea-merchant  was  indeed  roused  to  an  unusual  pitch 


TS  GOD'S  FOOL. 

of  agitation,  or  he  would  never  have  committed  liimsolf  to  so 
rash  a  projiosal.  liut  ho  was  growing  old — with  worry,  more 
than  witli  years — and  his  arithmetic  was  no  longer  as  hard 
and  fast  as  it  used  to  be. 

"  I  accept,"  said  Doctor  Pillenaar,  after  a  moment's  hes- 
itation, "  for  the  child's  sake.  My  charge  is  a  dollar  a  visit. 
And  you  know  it." 

No  more  lessons.  No  more  struggling  after  fleeting 
images,  that  ran  and  ran  the  harder  he  strove  to  retain 
them.  Repose,  and  fresh  air,  and  tranquil  enjoyments  — 
and  then  a  blissful  feeling  as  if  the  ache  were  almost  gone. 

It  was  Doctor  Pillenaar  who  called  in  another  great 
medicine-man  to  come  and  see  Elias,  not  an  oculist,  tliis 
time,  but  a  learned  professor  of  "  psychiatry."  Very  few 
people  in  Koopstad  knew  what  was  meant  by  psychiatry ;  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  the  wise  man  himself  did,  thoudi 
he  was  professor  of  it.  An  impression  got  about,  however, 
that  a  phrenologist  had  been  sent  for  to  feel  Elias's  bumps, 
and  Koopstad  was  perfectly  satisfied,  though  some  people 
did  say  they  would  never  have  thought  it  of  Doctor  Pille- 
naar. "  Elias  has  had  one  bump  on  his  head,  I  should  think, 
which  could  explain  the  whole  matter,"  said  Henkie.  Hen- 
kie  was  an  unfeeling  lad.  Ilubbie  looked  away.  He  did 
not  like  people  to  speak  of  that  terrible  story,  which  was  so 
old,  and  yet  daily  so  new. 

"  It  is  the  brain,"  said  the  professor,  saying  nothing  new, 
but  charging  a  couple  of  hundred  florins  for  saying  it— and 
therein  will  ever  lie  a  subtle  comfort  for  those  of  us  who  can 
afford  to  pay  for  it,  and  especially  for  those  who  can't.  "  It 
is  the  brain.  There  is  undoubtedly  a  permanent  lesion,  and 
probably,  in  connection  with  that,  as  an  outcome,  yes,  I 
should  say,  as  an  outcome  of  it " — he  frowned  deeply — "  a 
slow  malformation  of  the  brain.  Has  this  deterioration 
ceased — or  has  it  not?  that,  honoured  colleague,  is  the 
question  which,  if  I  understand  aright,  you  are  desirous  of 


DR.  PILLENAAR'S  REVENGE,  ^9 

seeing  solved  ?  " — Pillenaar  nodded  acquiescence,  a  little  im- 
patiently.— "  It  is  a  question  requiring  mature  consideration, 
and  requiring,  above  all,  as  many  data  as  can  possibly  be 
procured.  Let  us — ahem — have  luncheon  first,  and  then 
we  can  talk  the  whole  matter  over  at  our  ease,  as,  if  we 
reckon  half  an  hour  for  the  meal,  I  shall  still  have  twenty 
minutes  till  my  train  leaves  for — ahem — home." 

They  called  in  Ilendrik  Lossell,  as  soon  as  their  con- 
ference had  been  hurried  over,  and  they  told  him  the  result. 

"  Nothing  could  be  settled  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 
On  the  whole,  it  was  probable,  judging  by  the  experience  of 
the  last  years,  that  the  boy's  brain  would  still  suffer  further 
derangement.  It  might  safely  be  assumed,  however,  that 
such  alteration,  if  it  did  occur,  would  manifest  itself  very 
tardily.  Years  might  elapse  before  any  noticeable  change 
took  jilace.  On  the  other  hand,  the  patient  might " — the 
I^rofessor  paused  and  glanced  inquiringly  from  the  father  to 
Dr.  Pillenaar.  The  latter  motioned  to  him  to  proceed — 
"  The  patient  might  lose  other  senses,  as  he  had  already  lost 
these.  The  eyes  were  sound ;  the  ears  were  intact,  the  mis- 
chief therefore  lay  in  the  channels  of  communication  be- 
tween these  organs  and  the  central  consciousness.  It  was 
possible,  however,  that  the  work  of  destruction  had  now 
come  to  a  standstill.  It  was  also  possible  that,  if  it  con- 
tinued, the  patient  might  lapse  into  idiocy  " — Dr.  Pillenaar 
nodded.  "  The  great  man  did  not  think  this  was  likely,  too 
long  a  period  having  already  elapsed.  More  could  not  bo 
said  with  certainty.  But  what  had  been  said  before  was 
certain,  taking  the  accompanying  restrictions  into  account. 
And,  if  the  cab  Avas  waiting  ? — thank  you — perhaps  it  would 
be  better  to  wake  the  cabman." 

"  I  understand,"  said  Lossell,  confusedly  following  the 
great  light  of  science,  "that  only  the  brain  is  diseased?  " 

"  Certainly.  Undoubtedly.  Probably.  Of  course.  The 
constitution  is  healthy,  not  absolutely  robust,  but  far  from 


80  GOD'S  FOOL. 

unsound.  Rather  the  reverse.  Remarkably  sound.  With 
care  the  cliild  may  live  to  be  a  hundred.  It  is  this  very 
fact  of  his  general  healthiness  that  proves  there  must  be 
some  local  Haw." 

"  Then,  could  we  not,"  stammered  the  merchant  on  the 
steps,  "could  we  not — as  I  see  the  great  doctors  do  in 
Vienna — with  stomachs,  you  know,  insert  new  ones  of — of 
pigskin — it's  in  all  the  papers — could  we  not  renovate  the 
diseased  part  of  the  brain — remove  it,  you  know,  and — and 
insert  new — piece,  professor ! " 

"  Pig's  brains  ? "  queried  the  professor.  His  cab  was 
coming  up  to  the  front  steps.  "  Well,  hardly.  And  what 
use  would  they  be  to  your  son,  my  dear  sir,  if  he  had  them  ? 
How  could  he  become  a  doctor  or  a  lawyer  or  a  parson,  with 
the  brains  of  a  pig  ?  " 

"  I  don't  want  him  to  become  that,"  said  Hendrik  Los- 
scll,  innocently  pursuing  his  direct  line  of  thought,  without 
deferring  to  his  companion's.  '*  I  want  him  to  become  a 
merchant  like  myself." 

"  No,  no ;  he  would  only  do  for  a  doctor,"  interposed 
Pillenaar  bitterly. 

"  We  have  not  got  quite  as  far  as  that  yet,"  said  the 
student  of  the  human  soul  (seen  from  the  outside),  as  he 
settled  himself  in  his  conveyance.  "  Nor  has  the  Vienna 
doctor,  whatever  he  may  do  in  ten  years'  time.  But  we 
have  done  great  things,  none  the  less,  in  psychiatry,  very 
great  things  indeed,  considering  " — he  added  complacently 
— "  that  nobody  ever  did  anything  before  us." 

"  And  what  have  you  done  ? "  asked  Lossell,  thinking 
discontentedly  of  his  departed  bank-notes,  the  open  carriage- 
door  in  his  hand. 

"  We  have  classified,  my  dear  sir.  We  have  classified. 
And  we  have  found  a  great  number  of  people  to  be  mad 
whom  nobody  ever  imagined  to  be  mad  before." 

"  And  have  you,"  asked  Lossell,  "  found  a  good  many 
so-called  mad  people  to  be  sane  ?  " 


DR.  PILLENAAR'S  REVENGE.  81 

"  Well,  no,  liardly  that,"  replied  the  "  psychiater,"  some- 
what taken  aback,  "  hardly  that,  no.  I  should  scarcely  say 
that.  Would  vou  tell  him  to  drive  to  the  Northern  Station  ? 
Thank  you.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you.  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt  your  boy  will  do  very  well  indeed." 

The  carriage  drove  away.  "  We  have  been  born  too 
early,"  said  Lossell  sadly,  as  he  turned  into  the  house.  "  It 
is  our  misfortune.  If  we  had  only  lived  twenty  years  later, 
the  doctors  would  have  spoken  of  a  new  brain  for  Elias,  as 
the  parsons  now  speak  of  a  new  heart,  and  he  would  have 
been  a  good  man  of  business  yet,  and  all  would  have  been 
well."  He  sighed  heavily.  "  And  now  all  is  wrong,"  he 
said. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"  LIKE    A    STREAM    UNDER   A    WILLOW-TREE." 

And  so  Elias  grew  up,  with  the  old  brain  that  would  not 
work  as  it  ought  to,  watched  over  and  cared  for  in  his  daily- 
needs  and  perplexities  by  Johanna's  motherly  affection,  and 
protected,  from  a  distance,  by  Doctor  Pillenaar,  against  all 
mistakes  and  misconceptions.  After  some  years  Tonnerre 
died,  of  old  age,  and  that  was  the  first  intense  grief  he  had 
known  since  his  blindness.  His  father  obtained  for  him — 
at  great  expense  and  at  almost  greater  pains — an  exactly 
similar  little  animal  from  a  London  dealer  who  probably 
stole  it  as  a  last  resource — but  Elias  would  have  none  of  the 
little  stranger.  "  It  was  ungrateful  of  him,"  said  Judith 
Lossell,  "  after  all  the  trouble  his  father  had  taken."  And 
therein  she  was  right.  She  was  always  right;  and  ymi 
always  had  a  sneaking  feeling  that  she  ought  to  have  been 
wrong.  She  had  a  talent  for  stating  tiresome  truths  that 
nobody  wanted  to  believe. 

It  was  disagreeable  for  her,  too,  to  find  this  deaf  duffer, 
this  blind  idiot  that  nobody  wanted  to  live,  outgrowing  her 
own  children  daily  in  health  and  strength  and  outer  beauty. 
For  Hendrik  and  Hubert — Henkie  and  Hubbie  no  longer 
— had  developed  into  little  business-mannikins  such  as  you 
can  find  in  any  number,  if  you  care  to  look,  on  the  exchange 
and  mart  of  Koopstad.  They  were  small  and  spare,  with 
close-cropped  heads  and  yellow  complexions,  and  they  smelt 
of  "  Jockey  Club."  They  were  over-dressed,  into  just  that 
shade  of  over-dressing  Avhich  is  peculiar  to  the  sons  of  mer- 


"LIKE  A  STREAM  UNDER  A  WILLOW-TREE."       83 

chant-princes.  They  had  aristocratic  tastes,  for  they  hated 
the  Jews,  and  never  swallowed  a  glass  of  wine  without  say- 
ing that  it  might  have  been  better;  and  they  knew  all 
about  everybody  and  everything. 

Elias,  on  the  contrary,  living  in  God's  great  solitude  of 
boundless  fresh  air  and  almost  unbroken  silence,  grew  up 
with  such  a  frame  as  we  all  might  be  troubled  with,  were 
civilization  not  there  to  refine  us.  From  a  puny,  pale-faced 
laddie  he  developed  into  a  man  of  six  feet  two,  with  a  chest 
like  a  drum  and  a  voice  like  a  trumpet,  a  man  with  the 
limbs  of — no,  no,  not  those  eternalized  effeminate  append- 
ages of  a  Grreek  god — with  the  limbs  of  an  old  Batouwer 
from  the  forests  of  the  Khine.  And  there  was  something 
unavoidably  affecting  in  the  combination  of  this  great  dis- 
play of  physical  strength  with  a  certain  timidity  of  move- 
ment— alas,  much  of  the  old  childish  grace  was  gone  ! — and 
a  slight  stoop  of  the  head,  the  natural  results  of  his  blind- 
ness. He  had  retained  that  golden  shimmer  over  his  curly 
locks  which  so  seldom  outstays  the  golden  sunshine  of 
childhood,  and  his  face  had  grown  handsome  with  the  repose 
of  harmonious  lines.  The  sightless  eyes  were  usually  closed  ; 
for  long  hours  he  would  sit  thus  silent,  curtained  from  that 
outer  world  he  could  not  gaze  upon  ;  but  it  was  when  he 
swept  up  the  long-lashed  eyelids  that  you  understood  how 
it  came  that  women  called  the  blind  fool,  Elias  Lossell,  the 
most  beautiful  man  in  Koopstad. 

He  had  inherited,  with  his  mother's  rather  insignificant 
regularity  of  feature,  the  fathomless  splendour  of  his  father's 
eyes — those  eyes  that  had  purchased  Volderdoes  Zonen. 
But  in  the  son's  unillu mined  orbs  there  slept  a  sadness,  a 
tender,  pitiful  pleading,  irresistible  as  that  attraction  of 
deep,  dark  water  which  compels  you  to  look  again.  It  was 
impossible  to  realize  that  such  glory  of  love  and  sorrow 
could  fall  back  upon  the  beholder  from  a  soulless  mirror. 
And  who  shall  say,  indeed,  that  those  tranquil  depths  could 
give  forth  none  of  their  own  inner  light  because  they  could 


84  GOD'S  FOOL. 

receive  none  from  the  radiance  a,round  them  ?  It  was  that  ^ 
gentle,  fugitive  pleading  which  broke  across  the  stillness, 
like  a  ripple  on  a  lake,  a  something  indefinite,  something 
lacking,  like  a  prayer  and  a  regret,  that  moved  you  to  the 
very  centre  of  your  being,  you  could  scarcely  have  reasoned 
out  why.  Eyes  that  look  forth  upon  the  world's  little  ups 
and  downs  are  swept  by  every  change  of  sentiment ;  only 
sightless  repose  could  burn  with  such  a  steadfast  flame  of 
sadness,  and  of  love  that  conquers  regret. 

How  well  I  remember  those  eyes  of  Elias  Lossell's — nay, 
forgive  the  epic  poet  that  the  strength  of  a  personal  remi- 
niscence should  break  through  your  neat  little  rules — I 
have  good  cause  to  remember.  For  they  did  me  brave  serv- 
ice once,  many  years  ago,  when  I  was  not  as  old,  and  there- 
fore not  as  wise,  a  man  as  I  have  become  since.  I  had  been 
to  hear  a  stupid  lecture,  which  had  impressed  me  very 
much,  because  there  were  a  number  of  scientific  terms  in  it 
which  I  could  not  understand,  and  which,  therefore,  I  knew 
must  all  contain  as  many  undeniable  truths.  It  was  all 
about  the  origin  of  man,  and  it  had  proved  to  me — irrefuta- 
bly— that  I,  like  the  rest  of  the  human  race,  was  nothing 
but  a  perfected  cell.  I  could  appreciate  that  argument — 
about  life,  and  humanity,  being  a  gigantic  sell.  In  my 
darker  moments  I  had  often  reasoned  it  out  for  myself. 
And  there  was  nothing  but  matter  and  force,  and  nothing 
worth  living  for,  except  life.  It  Avas  all  very  beautiful  and 
simple,  and  you  had  only  got  to  persuade  yourself  you  liked 
it,  even  when  you  had  the  toothache  or  the  heartache,  and 
there  you  were.  I  was  thinking  it  over,  and  wondering  to 
myself  why  I  could  not  immediately  realize  that  that  per- 
fected anthropoid  ape,  Graziella  (my  heart's  queen  at  the 
moment ;  I  found  out  afterwards  that  her  name  was  Jane), 
was  not  a  bit  more  perfected  than  all  other  she-anthropoid 
apes.  I  was  rei^roaching  myself  with  my  foolishness  in  not 
comprehending  more  readily  that  there  was  nothing  inside 
anybody's  body  except  that  body  itself.     I  understood  per- 


"LIKE  A  STREAM  UNDER  A  WILLOW-TREE."       85 

fectly  how  all  my  good  and  evil  instincts  had  developed 
themselves  out  of  my  original  cellular  ancestor,  and,  the 
particulars  having  got  somewhat  Jumbled  in  my  head,  I  was 
ready  to  affirm  that  I  owed  my  dislike  of  mint-sauce  to  the 
wolf's  disagreeable  habit  of  eating  his  lamb  raw,  and  my 
short-sightedness  to  the  eagle's  equally  unreasonable  custom 
of  staring  needlessly  at  the  sun.  For  I  had  understood  the 
lecturer  to  say  distinctly  that  everybody  was  descended 
from  everybody  else,  and  that  all  our  qualities  could  be  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  somebody  else  had  had  them  before 
us.  In  fact,  I  was  converted  to  the  very  latest  scientific 
discoveries  of  that  day.  Two  years  afterwards  I  happened 
to  hear  the  same  lecturer  again,  and  I  found  that  he  was 
most  anxious  to  tell  us  that  all  he  had  told  us  last  time 
had  been  proved  to  be  wrong.  I  could  have  told  him  that 
sooner.  I  had  learned  it,  not  from  a  wise  man  but  from  a 
fool.  And  I  had  found  my  soul  again,  while  he  was  still 
looking  for  his.  I  heard  him  say  that  he  quite  expected  to 
light  upon  it  soon  in  the  development  of  the  carrier-pigeon 
out  of  the  pigeon  that  can't  carry  anything  at  all.  I  believe 
this  has  actually  happened  since,  for  I  was  informed  the 
other  day  that  he  was  perfectly  happy  in  a  scientific  squab- 
ble with  a  brother  inventor — I  mean  discoverer — who  main- 
tains that,  wherever  the  soul  of  man  may  be,  the  soul  of 
woman  can  distinctly  be  traced  to  the  pouter. 

I  was  wandering  down  the  street,  then,  with  a  jumble 
of  these  latter-day  truths  in  my  head,  when  I  suddenly 
remembered  that  Elias  Lossell  had  been  unwell  of  late,  and 
that  I  had  promised  my  mother  to  go  and  inquire  after  him. 
So  I  walked  out  of  the  town  towards  the  house  where  he 
lived,  and  I  found  him  sitting  up  by  his  fire,  for  he  was 
better.  I  talked  with  him  a  little— you  could  always  get 
Johanna  to  interpret — and  then  I  lapsed  into  silence,  facing 
him,  with  only  the  hearth  between  us.  And  presently,  in 
the  darkness  and  confusion  of  my  thoughts,  he  lifted  his 
drooping  eyes  and  turned  them  full  upon  me — turned  them 


86  GOD'S  FOOL. 

with  tlieir  sightless  immensity  of  a  sorrow  that  has  con- 
quered itself.  I  got  up,  and  pressed  his  hand,  and  went 
out.  And  ever  since,  tliough  I  respect  the  earthworm  no 
less,  nor  the  domestic  pigeon,  nor  even  the  tailless  ape,  I 
believe  that  the  humblest  human  intellect  is  the  servant  of 
a  soul  which  sprang  from  God,  and  that  the  loftiest  is  noth- 
ing more. 

Elias  had  fortunately  a  small  number  of  hobbies  which 
were  practicable  even  to  his  enfeebled  intellect.  Chief  of 
these,  strangely  enough,  was  the  amusement — for  with  him 
it  could  not  be  called  an  art— of  gardening.  His  great  de- 
light was  to  potter  about  in  a  small  bit  of  garden,  with  the 
aid  of  a  gardener,  and  to  plant  combinations  of  brilliant 
colour,  which  his  eye  could  never  behold.  He  would  feel 
the  flowers  carefully,  and  request  that  they  might  be  mi- 
nutely described  to  him ;  then  he  would  set  to  work,  taking 
them  one  by  one  from  the  heaps  in  which  his  assistant  had 
laid  them  and  arranging  them  according  to  his  fancy.  And 
thus  it  was  also  his  supreme  enjoyment  to  make  up  his  own 
flowers  into  nosegays  and  send  them  to  anyone  that  had 
shown  him  kindness.  But  he  could  never  remember  for 
any  length  of  time  where  the  various  kinds  had  been  plant- 
ed, and  had  to  ask  day  after  day  if  they  were  in  bloom. 

And  gradually  a  number  of  pets  were  gathered  around 
him,  not  to  fill  up  Tonnerre's  place,  but  to  live  and  die  be- 
side him.  For  Elias  could  never  remember  that  Tonnerre 
was  dead,  and,  when  a  new  dog  was  brought  into  the  room, 
he  would  ask  after  his  old  playmate,  and  he  would  even  cry 
because  they  said  Tonnerre  was  gone.  Johanna  could 
never  quite  succeed  in  breaking  him  of  that  petulant  habit 
of  crying  when  he  wanted  to  have  his  way. 

Other  pets,  however,  were  given  him  by  friends,  and 
he  made  them  all  welcome ;  white  mice,  a  tame  squirrel,  a 
big  cat  whom  he  taught  to  respect  the  mice,  and  a  couple 
of  canaries.     They  were  quite  a  family  of  friends  to  him, 


"LIKE  A  STREAM   UNDER  A  WILLOW-TREE."       87 

with  their  separate  names  and  their  individual  peculiarities, 
and  he  liked  to  tell  you  about  them  and  their  tricks.  The 
canaries  were  his  favourites,  "  because  of  their  beautiful 
song,"  he  said,  and  he  declared — was  it  a  fancy  of  his  or 
not  ? — that  he  could  always  know  when  they  sang — of 
course  without  distinguishing  a  note — by  the  movement 
their  music  occasioned  in  the  air  around  him.  Thus,  in 
the  care  of  his  "  menagerie,"  as  Heukie  called  it,  his  heart 
found  opportunities  of  extending  its  affections,  and  Johanna 
often  told  him  laughingly  that  she  was  jealous  of  his  winged 
and  four-footed  loves.  "  I  don't  know,"  said  Elias  slowly 
on  one  of  these  occasions.  He  ahvays  spoke  slowly,  as  if 
looking  for  his  words.  "  I  should  like  to  love  everybody, 
only  that  it  seems  like  loving  nobody.  But  I  love  you  best, 
Johanna,  except  myself." 

Presently  he  added : 

"  I — I  love  myself  very  much,  Johanna.  Do  you  love 
yourself  better  than  me  ?  " 

Any  lie  seemed  preferable  to  the  truth  for  a  moment,  for 
the  woman  shrank  from  the  seeming  self-complacency  of  the 
confession.  And  then  she  said  angrily  aloud  :  "  He  is  only 
he,  after  all,"  and  yet  she  blushed  deeply  as  she  spelled  on 
his  neck  :  "  No,  I  think  I  love  you  better,  Elias." 

He  sat  quiet  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  said  softly :  "  I 
didn't  know.  I  thought  it  was  very  good  of  me  to  be  so 
fond  of  you.  I  think  I  should  like  to  love  you  better, 
Johanna,  than  I  love  myself.  But  I  love  myself  very  much. 
And  I  think  I  would  rather  have  myself  happy  than  any- 
body else's  happiness." 

Elias  was  about  twenty  when  he  thus  spoke.  He  was 
too  foolish  not  to  distinguish  better  between  what  is  and 
wliat  we  suppose  to  be. 

"  It  is  no  use  trying  to  develop  his  intellect,"  Dr. 
Pillenaar  had  repeatedly  said  to  Johanna.  "  He  can't  stand 
it.     And,  especially,  he  can't  stand  efforts  to  increase  his 


88  GOD'S  FOOL. 

stock  of  knowledge.  Working  on  his  memory  is  useless, 
and  can  only  do  harm.  Try  what  you  can  achieve  with  his 
moral  sense,  his  affections,  liis  standard  of  right  and  wrong, 
and  so  on.  I  am  not  very  hopeful,  but  any  improvement 
can  only  come  from  thence.  Instruction  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. I  do  not  say  that  a  certain  amount — a  moderate 
amount — of  education  may  not  be  attainable  with  patience 
and  tact.  I  believe  you  have  both,  my  good  woman,  at 
least  Avhere  this  youth  is  concerned.  See  what  you  can  do 
for  him.  A  man  may  be  a  man,  though  he  doesn't  know 
the  multii)lication-table,  all  the  better,  perhaps,  for  never 
having  realized  that  himself  and  nine  fellow-creatures  only 
make  a  I  and  a  Nought." 

Johanna  undertook  her  task  and  worked  it  out  with 
laborious  devotion.  In  fact,  she  had  begun  it  long  before 
Dr.  Pillenaar  mentioned  the  subject.  At  Clarens  she  had 
been  amazed  to  discover  that  Elias's  whole  idea  of  moral 
distinctions  was  based  upon  "  Mamma  likes  "  and  "  Mamma 
doesn't  like  " — a  rule  good  enough  in  itself,  perhaps,  but 
surely  only  as  the  outer  court  to  an  inner  temple.  Elias 
reposed  tranquilly  upon  the  consideration  that  wrong  became 
wrong  through  your  mother's  finding  it  out.  Right  be- 
came wrong,  for  that  matter,  if  it  interfered  with  the  good 
lady's  comfort,  and  certainly  wrong  became  altogether  right, 
if  she  happened — through  ignorance  or  carelessness — not  to 
object  to  it.  It  was,  in  its  way,  a  very  complicated  system, 
because  its  single  instances  all  had  to  be  judged  apart, 
without  any  possible  reduction  to  general  rules ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  had  the  advantage  of  offering  a  superficial 
but  fully  satisfactory  solution  of  each  difficulty,  immediately 
it  supervened,  so  that  you  could  always  know,  for  the 
moment  at  least,  what  to  do  and  what  not  to  do.  But,  away 
from  his  stepmother's  scoldings,  Elias  was  as  a  vessel  with- 
out a  rudder.  He  was  anxious  to  find  out  Johanna's 
opinions  on  various  subjects,  and  he  set  himself  to  do  so 
with   laudable   earnestness.     "  Mamma  won't  allow  me  to 


"LIKE  A  STREAM  UNDER  A  WILLOW-TREE."       89 

keep  my  wet  boots  on  when  there's  company,"  he  said,  "  but, 
Johanna,  there's  no  company  here." 

Johanna  devoted  her  life  to  the  rousing  in  his  torpid 
nature  of  a  consciousness  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
right  and  wrong.  "  Elias  good,"  "  Elias  not  good  " — as  with 
a  little  child.  It  was  up-hill  work,  at  first,  not  that  she 
found  him  unwilling  to  learn,  but  the  narrow  limits  of  his 
horizon  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  oversee  problems  which 
belong  to  the  most  intricate  the  human  race  must  grapple 
with,  while  yet  he  had  natural  sensitiveness  of  conscience 
enough  partly  to  perceive  them  upon  his  path.  "  If  it's 
bad  of  me,  what  makes  me  want  to  do  it  ?  "  he  would  ask, 
for  instance.  And  upon  Johanna's  rej)lying  that  it  was  the 
devil  who  tempted  him,  "  Then  why  didn't  God  forget  to 
make  the  devil  when  he  made  all  the  rest?"  said  the  fool. 

And  the  worst  of  it  was  that  his  brain  had  not  elasticity 
enough  to  cast  off  a  perplexity  which  had  once  got  itself 
wedged  fast.  He  would  repeat  a  question  like  the  above 
over  and  over  again  during  many  weeks,  always  forgetting 
the  answer  he  had  received  a  few  hours  before.  And 
Johanna  would  answer  with  unaltering  patience  that  she 
did  not  know,  or  that  nobody  knew,  or  at  last — when  this 
solution  left  him  longing  for  somebody  who  did  know — 
that  God  did  not  make  the  devil,  but  that  the  devil  made 
himself. 

He  had  not  strength  of  mind  enough  to  leap  beyond  so 
satisfactory  an  answer,  and  therefore  found  contentment  in 
it,  until  he  forgot — and  asked  again. 

But,  whatever  might  become  of  the  theological  abstrac- 
tions, one  practical  lesson  Johanna  found  easy  enough  to 
drive  home.  The  simple  duty  of  doing  little  kindnesses 
was  one  which  he  understood  with  eager  aptitude ;  in  fact, 
there  was  considerable  danger  of  his  missing  the  idea  of 
duty  in  the  pleasure  which  this  fulfilment  of  duty  occasioned 
him.  And  soon  it  became  the  greatest  reward  for  good  be- 
haviour that  lie  should  be  allowed  to  give  some  trifle  away. 


90  GOD'S  FOOL. 

His  nurse  encouraged  him,  in  his  dull  life,  to  seek  this 
diversion  as  much  as  possible.  And  they  would  go  out  into 
the  country  cottages  together,  and  with  his  own  hand  Elias 
would  distribute  what  lie  had  brought.  He  made  friends 
in  this  way  among  the  cottage  children.  He  Avould  speak 
to  them,  and  some  of  them  would  get  over  their  alarm  when 
they  saw  how  gentle  and  kindly  he  was.  This  simple  phi- 
lanthropy of  alms-giving,  which  estimable  people  will  prob- 
ably think  ought  not  to  have  been  permitted,  was  an  ever- 
increasing  source  of  pleasurable  occupation,  and  it  brought 
him  into  contact  with  his  fellow-creatures  as  he  would  not 
otherwise  have  been  brought.  Then,  after  a  time,  it  be- 
came not  only  mere  alms-giving,  when  Elias  got  to  know 
individual  cases.  And  his  serene  presence  in  the  cottages 
was  in  itself  a  lesson  which  only  they  could  overlook  who 
were  blinder  than  he. 

For,  after  the  poignant  hope  and  fear  of  the  first  months, 
and  the  stagnant  agony  which  succeeded  them,  Elias  sank 
into  more  cheerful  repose.  At  first  they  who  watched  over 
him  dreaded  that  this  tranquillity  might  deepen  into  apathy, 
but  the  untiring  devotion  of  his  faithful  nurse  drew  him 
slowly  out  of  his  lethargic  resignation  into  a  taste  for  the 
various  occupations  which  have  been  indicated  above.  And 
as  the  years  passed  on,  and  his  health  grew  stronger,  some 
new  interest  would  be  added  from  time  to  time  to  the  little 
circle  which  was  already  his. 

Of  games,  unfortunately,  he  could  only  play  the  simplest. 

His  head  was,  of  course,  not  strong  enough  for  chess,  or 
draughts,  or  even  dominoes,  in  the  study  of  which  he  might 
otherwise  have  whiled  away  so  many  a  weary  hour.  But  he 
could  play  an  occasional  game  of  "  solitaire  "  in  his  loneli- 
ness, and,  extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  he  had  selected 
the  game  of  "  spillikens "  as  his  especial  favourite.  The 
merely  mechanical  skill  was  within  his  comprehension,  and 
the  extreme  delicacy  of  his  touch  enabled  him  to  discern  if 
the  piece  he  was  lifting  came  into  contact  with  another. 


"LIKE  A  STREAM  UNDER  A  WILLOW-TREE."       91 

He  learnt  through  long  practice  to  judge  of  the  position  of 
the  set  by  lightly  passing  his  fingers  over  the  little  heaj), 
and,  if  he  failed  to  notice  a  movement,  Johanna  would  be 
near  to  give  a  hint.  He  attained  great  proficiency  through 
constant  repetition,  and  it  was  a  strange  sight  to  watch  this 
blind  creature  bending,  with  contracted  brows,  over  the 
simple  game  which  would  seem  to  require,  as  one  might 
think,  keenness  of  eye  quite  as  much  as  sureness  of  hand. 

Very,  very  slowly  the  shadows  deepened  over  his  already 
clouded  intellect.  With  all  her  love  Johanna  could  not 
avert  them ;  with  all  her  hopefulness  she  could  not  ignore 
their  coming.  Almost  imperceptibly  in  the  enforced  seclu- 
sion in  which  he  lived,  hedged  in  on  every  side,  the  lights 
of  human  intelligence  went  out  one  by  one.  He  forgot 
more  and  more,  his  little  stock  of  knowledge  growing  less — 
he  experienced  yet  greater  difficulty  in  finding  his  words. 
He  began  to  speak  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  as  little 
children  do  :  "  Elias  wants  to,"  "  Elias  will  be  good." 

And  yet — to  her  who  knew  him  best  because  she  loved 
him,  it  seemed  as  if  with  the  increase  of  his  manhood  he 
grew  gentler,  kinder,  more  affectionate. 

And  his  father  knew  only  this.  He  knew  that  he  had 
constantly  asked  the  boy :  "  Are  you  happy,  Elias  ?  "  And 
at  first,  there  had  been  no  reply  possible,  and  then  the  lad 
had  sometimes  said :  "  I  suppose  so,  Papa,"  and  now  the 
man  would  often  answer  :  "  Yes." 

And  the  days  were  like  each  other,  and  the  years  were 
like  the  days,  only  longer,  and  when  Elias  was  twenty-five, 
Hendrik  Lossell  died. 


CHAPTEli  XII. 

VOLDERDOES    ZONEN, 

Hendrik  Junior  was  nineteen,  and  had  entered  his 
father's  office  the  year  before.  Hubert,  being  more  back- 
ward than  his  brother,  was  to  remain  a  little  longer  at  the 
School  of  Commerce.  They  had  worked  together  originally 
until  Hubert,  not  having  "  passed  "  on  one  occasion,  had 
been  forced  to  see  Hendrik  move  into  a  higher  form  with- 
out him.  This  separation  had  naturally  caused  a  change  in 
their  pursuits,  their  companions,  their  hours  and  courses  of 
work.  They  had  been  compelled  to  go  each  his  separate 
way,  and  from  being  almost  always  together,  they  had  come 
to  consider  it  natural  that  the  one  should  not  know  for 
hours  what  the  other  was  doing.  "  I  wish  you  would  help 
me  with  my  work,  Henk,"  said  Huib,  "as  you  used  to 
when  we  worked  together."  "  Oh,  I  can't  bother,"  said 
Henk.  "  I've  forgotten  all  that  rot  since  I  moved  up.  It 
seems  years  ago  since  I  learnt  it."  Good-natured  Huib 
winced. 

Dutch  boys  talk  Dutch  slang.  Their  repertoire  is  small, 
and  lacks  the  picturesqueness  of  English  school-talk.  Still, 
they  are  as  convinced  as  their  coevals  over  the  water  that 
there  is  a  good  deal  rotten  in  the  bill  of  fare  prepared  for 
their  intellectual  nourishment,  and  the  term  used  above  can 
therefore  certainly  not  be  considered  misplaced.  And 
schoolboy-talk  is  untranslatable.  To  the  connoisseur  it 
always  seems  dcliglitful,  salt  and  bracing  and  ever   fresh, 


VOLDERDOES  ZONEN.  93 

like  a  breeze  from  the  hills  of  youth.  What  a  good  thing  it 
is  that  the  mammas  so  seldom  hear  it !  It  only  reaches 
them,  as  a  rule,  through  the  medium  of  the  young  ladies' 
schoolroom,  and  from  the  lips  of  these  it  tastes  like  bottled 
sea-water,  and  not  a  bit  like  bottled  breeze.  No,  a  girl 
should  not  talk  slang.  She  always  knows  she  is  talking  it. 
And  therefore  in  her  it  becomes  affectation,  while  its  very 
essence  is  "  unavoidableness."  In  the  boy's  case  it  comes 
bubbling  from  the  lips  with  irresistible  simplicity,  and  you 
feel  that  it  is  the  harmonious  vehicle  of  his  thoughts.  It  is 
keen,  supple,  gleaming.  And  it  strikes  straight.  With  the 
young  lady  whose  governess  is  teaching  her  how  to  hand  a 
parcel — pooh  !  do  you  remember  that  old  fable  ? — hush  !  let 
us  be  polite,  even  to  the  slang  talkster : 

"There  once  was  a  lion  that  wMit  out  walking  in  a 
donkey-skin. 

"And  everybody  noticed  how  much  softer  a  donkey's 
skin  is  by  nature  than  a  lion's." 

Fables  are  wearisome  things  till  you  get  to  the  moral ; 
and  then  they  become  provoking. 

At  least,  so  I  have  always  found  them,  but  most  people 
whom  I  have  questioned  on  the  subject  have  told  me  they 
considered  fables  were  very  instructive,  because  they  give 
you  a  much  clearer  insight  into  the  faults  of  your  fellow- 
creatures. 

It  is  unfortunately  hardly  correct  that  Dutch  schoolboys 
delight  in  slang.  They  have  but  few  idiomatic  expressions, 
and  those  are  often  of  very  unpleasing  origin.  Alas  that 
they  should  make  up  for  the  deficiency  by  oaths. 

Then,  why,  it  may  be  asked,  this  dissertation  upon  the 
subject  ?  There  was  a  man  once  who  possessed  a  coat  but 
no  peg  to  hang  it  on.  So,  having  honestly  earned  his  coat, 
he  stole  a  peg.  He  thought  that  the  coat  would  hide  the 
peg.  And  so  it  did,  but,  as  it  hung  loose  in  the  air,  the 
detectives  cleverly  remarked  that  the  peg  must  be  behind 
it.    And  they  took  the  peg  away,  and  the  coat,  and  the 


94  GOD'S  FOOL. 

man ;  and  upon  tlio  latter  the  critics  sat  down — no,  I  mean 
the  detectives.    And  so  he  died. 

Hendrik  went  into  his  fatlier's  office.  And  he  began  to 
talk  about  "  'Change."  They  call  it  the  "  Purse"  in  Hol- 
land, as  everywhere  on  the  Continent,  and  Elias  had  long 
believed  that  it  was  a  great  bag  full  of  money,  hung  up 
somewhere,  and  that  his  father  and  all  other  peoj)le's 
fathers  went  down  to  it  every  afternoon  and  took  out  as 
much  as  they  wanted.  He  asked  why  the  ragged  chil- 
dren's fathers  did  not  go  down  to  the  "  Bourse."  "  Elias," 
said  Ilendrik,  "  is  an  unutterable  fool."  The  adjective  was 
painfully  true. 

Hendrik  Junior  was  not  a  fool.  Even  the  many  who 
did  not  like  him  unhesitatingly  admitted  that  he  was  a 
smart  young  man.  His  father's  old  clerks  beamed  upon 
him,  when  he  sat  down  before  his  office  desk,  spreading  out 
his  spidery  little  legs  on  a  magenta-coloured  sheepskin,  and 
knotting  his  little  black  eyebrows,  as  he  struck  a  quick 
hand  through  a  thick  bundle  of  j^apers,  with  an  incisive 
"  Let's  see."  "  Volderdoes  Zonen  "  was  not  merely  a 
wholesale  tea-shop.  It  was  a  great  house  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word,  a  social  institution,  and — to  a  certain  extent 
— what  might  be  called  a  tribal  family.  All  those  who 
were  connected  with  it  and  its  far-spreading  interests,  were 
connected  with  each  other.  The  mighty  head  of  the  firm, 
looming  bald  and  sacred,  in  the  far  distance  of  his  sanctum 
behind  glass  doors  that  opened  into  the  outer  office,  was 
Volderdoes  Zonen  incarnate,  but  the  youngest  errand-boy, 
who  stared  timidly  from  the  entrance-hall,  as  he  came  up 
with  his  message,  across  lines  of  desks  and  bended  heads, 
towards  a  solemn  silence  where  mortals  scarce  dared  tread, 
felt  that  he,  too,  somehow  and  in  some  infinitesimal  man- 
ner, was  "  Volderdoes  Zonen,"  and  rejoiced  in  the  thought. 
Outside,  where  he  waited,  was  a  perpetual  clamour  of  rail- 
cars,  a  babel  of  voices,  the  continual  thud  of  heavy  cases, 


VOLDERDOES  ZONEN.  95 

the  monotonous  rush  of  ropes  on  the  pulley — and  men,  with 
grave,  preoccupied  faces,  passed  him  rapidly,  going  to  and 
fro  through  the  great  doors.  Inside  was  silence,  except  for 
the  buzz  of  voices  in  the  so-called  "  Strangers'  Office  " — 
nothing  but  the  occasional  rustle  of  a  leaf,  or  a  fragment  of 
a  whisjDered  conversation,  as  one  clerk  would  step  over  for  a 
moment  to  consult  with  another.  Sometimes  a  handbell 
would  ring  with  a  sharp,  electric  twang  from  the  chief's 
table,  and  a  name  would  be  called  out — in  a  clear  and  im- 
perative key.  Then  some  quiet  worker  would  lay  down  hife 
pen  and  pass  through  the  glass  division,  into  the  presence 
of  his  sovereign.  The  oldest  of  them  never  listened  for  the 
name  which  must  follow  that  electric  signal  without  a 
moment's  quiver  of  expectation.  It  was  the  only  occasion 
on  which  Volderdoes  Zonen's  clerks  laid  down  their  pens 
unwiped. 

And  from  the  yard  and  the  quays  beyond  it  came  the 
boom  of  the  machinery,  the  rustle  of  the  descending  lift, 
the  "  heigh-ho's  "  to  the  horses  among  the  clatter  of  hoofs 
and  the  whistle  of  whips,  hour  after  hour,  day  after  day 
through  the  winter  rains,  when  the  great  stoves  were 
lighted  inside,  and  round  by  the  sweet,  soft,  summier 
months  when  all  the  windows  were  opened,  and,  amid  the 
scents  of  tea  and  machine-oil  and  lilacs,  the  twittering  of 
the  city-sparrows  broke  in  upon  the  ceaseless  scratching  of 
the  pens.  There  was  not  one  of  them  from  the  oldest  to 
the  youngest  (not  the  sparrows,  rather  the  pens)  but  felt 
"Volderdoes  Zonen"  to  be  eternal,  without  beginning  and 
without  ending,  like  the  world  they  lived  in. 

Hendrik  Lossell  himself,  they  felt,  though  he  was  an  in- 
corporation and  a  symbol,  was  not  the  eternal  Idea,  any 
more  than  William  I.  or  William  II.  is  the  Empire.  He 
would  go,  as  he  had  come,  and  Hendrik  II.  would  come  in 
his  turn,  and  go  also,  but  the  unity  of  Avhich  all  the  busy 
workers  were  component  parts  was  not  dependent  on  any 
of  them  for  its  existence,  either  the  greatest  or  the  least. 


9G  GOD'S  FOOL, 

Hendrik  Lossell,  however,  was  fully  conscious  that  for 
the  time  being,  at  any  rate,  the  sceptre  rested  in  his  hand. 
Not  that  he  allowed  it  to  rest ;  he  swayed  it  with  that  kind 
of  impersonal  government  which  is  usually  described  as 
"  stern  "  by  those  who  are  passively,  and  "  just "  by  those 
who  are  actively  connected  with  it.  Disobedience  meant 
instant  dismissal ;  obedience  could  not  always  mean  imme- 
diate reward.  That  was  unavoidable,  and  the  management 
of  so  extensive  a  business  required,  you  may  be  certain,  a 
firm  hand  as  well  as  a  quick  one.  "  Office  hours  are  too 
short  for  good  work,  as  it  is,"  Lossell  would  say  to  some 
penitent  promising  amendment ;  "  I  can't  pay  for  bad." 
"  There's  no  room  for  repentance  in  business,"  he  used  to 
remark.  "  If  you  want  to  repent,  I  must  leave  you  free  to 
do  so  at  home."  Whoever  might  be  head  of  his  household, 
there  was  no  doubt  who  was  master  in  the  office.  Perhaps 
he  found  some  sweet  compensation  in  the  thought.  Who 
shall  tell  ? 

And  when  he  himself  was  found  out  in  some  omission, 
or  some  positive  error  ?  Well,  that  would  occur  at  times, 
of  course ;  and  the  moment  was  an  awful  one.  It  happened 
upon  one  occasion  that  a  mistake  had  been  made  which  in- 
volved a  considerable  loss.  The  confidential  clerk  who  had 
to  broach  the  matter  to  his  master  trembled  in  his  shoes, 
not  for  himself,  for  the  fault  was  Lossell's.  The  clerk  had 
been  in  the  office  more  than  forty  years ;  he  had  served  old 
Elias  long  before  anyone  had  thought  of  the  present  head 
of  the  firm.  lie  spoke  calmly,  despite  his  tremor,  politely, 
positively.  The  chief  reddened,  looked  up  with  an  uncom- 
fortable glance,  looked  down  at  the  papers  before  him. 
"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  Mr.  Hopman,  there  has  been  an  alto- 
gether inexcusable  mistake.  I  am  very  much  vexed,  very 
much  displeased,  that  such  a  mistake  should  have  occurred, 
and  I  must  bear  the  consequences." 

The  old  clerk  understood.  It  was  Volderdoes  Zonen 
scolding  Hendrik  Lossell. 


VOLDEUDOES  ZONEN.  97 

But  Volderdoes  Zonen  did  not  send  Hendrik  Lossell 
away. 

The  walls  of  the  private  room  were  hung  with  the  firm's 
historic  mementoes ;  diplomas  of  honour,  an  appointment 
to  the  Jury  of  a  Great  Exhibition,  a  framed  and  glazed 
letter  from  a  European  sovereign  long  since  dead.  They 
were  spread  out  there  as  the  captured  banners  adorn  the 
chapel  of  a  conqueror.  And  high  above  the  monumental 
mantel-piece,  with  its  solemn  clock,  sat  enthroned  the  life- 
sized  portrait  of  a  Chinese  Grandee,  a  splendour  of  flowered 
silk  under  a  pair  of  little  twinkling  slits  of  celestial  Cheat- 
ery,  a  Li-Foo-Something,  who  had  earned  his  highest  but- 
ton by  robbing  his  Imperial  Master  in  company  with  old 
Elias's  father. 

This  heathen  Chinee  was  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  house. 
He  pervaded  it,  as  such  a  patron  spirit  should,  for  old  Elias 
had  turned  his  father's  friend  into  a  trademark — alas,  the 
illustrious  dead ! — and  everything  belonging  to  the  busi- 
ness, even  the  charwoman's  dusters,  that  came  out  of  their 
cupboard  on  Saturday  afternoon,  bore  the  image  of  the 
tea-honoured  Mandarin.  He  was  an  actual  Presence  ;  they 
believed  in  him  down  at  "  Volderdoes  Zonen's,"  and  spoke 
of  him  and  to  him,  as  if  he  really  were  responsible  for  the 
fortunes  of  the  firm.  The  warehousemen  had  a  super- 
stition among  them,  laughed  at,  yet  not  altogether  despised, 
that  the  great  cases  could  not  come  to  grief  as  long  as  the 
Chinaman-label  upon  them  remained  intact.  And  when 
old  Volderdoes  celebrated  his  silver-jubilee  as  head  of  the 
business,  the  whole  of  the  staff  clubbed  together,  big  and 
little,  every  member  of  the  vast  family,  the  errand-boys  sub- 
scribing five  cents,  and  presented  him  with  a  silver  dessert- 
service,  in  which  silver  mandarins  sat  under  silver  palm- 
trees,  bearing  crystal  dishes.  There  were  any  number  of 
silver  mandarins,  fit  type  of  the  spoil  which  the  astute  Li 
had  divided  between  himself  and  his  Christian  confederate. 
Judith  Lossell  spread  them  over  her  table  on  all  state  oc- 
7 


98  GOD'S  FOOL. 

casions,  for  she  was  a  merchant's  daughter  and  had  a  mer- 
chant's daughter's  pride. 

"  Fiddlesticks  !  "  said  Hendrik  Junior.  He  believed  in 
silver,  and  in  Chinamen,  but  he  did  not  believe  in  tutelary 
deities,  nor,  in  fact,  in  any  deity,  whether  adverse  or  other- 
wise. He  did  not  even  believe  overmuch  in  "  Volderdoes 
Zonen."  At  home  he  sj)oke  of  it  as  "  the  shop,"  but  not 
when  any  stranger  was  by.  It  was  an  unavoidable  formality 
for  making  money  to  him,  nothing  more.  Money  was  the 
one  thing  worth  having,  on  this  beastly  planet.  If  you  could 
have  got  it  Avithout  any  trouble,  so  much  the  better,  but,  as 
you  could  not,  well,  "  Volderdoes  Zonen  "  came  handy.  He 
considered  himself  especially  praiseworthy  for  looking  at 
matters  in  this  light.  He  knew  men  enough  who  wanted 
money  but  were  too  lazy  to  work  for  it.  He  did  not  realize 
how  great  his  wish  for  money  was. 

Well,  but  he  worked  hard  for  it.  And  when  the  day's 
work  was  over,  he  would  go  and  spend  his  evening  quietly 
at  the  opera,  especially  if  there  was  a  ballet,  or  at  one  of  the 
little  theatres  where  you  laugh  without  knowing  why.  And 
if  he  wanted  other  pleasures,  he  took  them  without  trou- 
bling anybody  about  them,  and  there  was  never  any  scandal 
or  unpleasantness  in  connection  with  young  Hendrik  Los- 
sell's  name.  He  was  altogether  a  most  estimable  young  man. 
There  were  many  such  in  Koopstad. 

He  quite  forgot  in  a  month  or  two  that  poor  Hubert, 
still  at  school,  was  his  twin-brother.  He  thought  of  him, 
and  soon  spoke  of  him,  as  the  younger  son.  And  so,  in- 
deed, he  was,  though  only  by  several  minutes.  He  grew 
younger  daily,  however,  in  the  new  -  fledged  merchant's 
eye. 

"That's  your  brother,  ain't  it,  Lossell?"  said  a  fresh 
chum,  also  a  merchant-princelet,  when  they  met  Hubert 
coming  along  the  street  with  his  books  under  his  arm. 
"  Yes,"  said  Hendrik,  with  a  good-humoured  smile,  "  c'est 
mon  cadet,  you  know.     He  goes  to  school." 


VOLDERDOES  ZONEN.  99 

Elias  also  knew  something,  in  his  vague  way,  of  the 
greatness  of  Volderdoes  Zonen.  He  had  grown  up  under 
the  shadow  of  the  house,  and  as  a  child,  before  his  troubles 
came  upon  him,  he  had  played  in  the  warehouses  and 
watched  the  men  at  their  work.  The  memory  had  re- 
mained with  him,  and  would  abide  in  his  heart  for  ever,  as 
those  experiences  of  our  earlier  years  become  our  compan- 
ions through  life.  He  did  not,  certainly,  know  much  of  the 
intricacies  of  commerce ;  but  he  did  know,  for  his  father 
had  repeated  it  to  him  almost  daily  for  many  years,  that 
"  Volderdoes  Zonen  "  was  a  thing  to  be  honoured  and  rever- 
enced, as  the  source  of  all  good  to  himself  and  to  all  his  re- 
lations. It  was  as  if  the  merchant  had  set  himself  to 
inspire  his  eldest  son  with  a  cult  of  the  historic  name,  he 
who  left  all  impressions  of  religion  or  morality  to  a  servant. 
Probably  he  had  good  reasons  for  his  conduct,  and  could 
have  told  you  why  such  strange  conversations  as  the  follow- 
ing were  so  common  between  him  and  the  son  who  had 
attained  to  manhood,  and  who  would  live  through  his 
whole  existence,  without  ever  coming  into  contact  with  that 
busy  world  in  which  the  merchant  dwelt. 

"  Elias,  what  is  your  father  ?  Tell  me,  do  you  remem- 
ber?" 

"  Head  of  the  house  of  '  Volderdoes  Zonen,'  Papa.  The 
great  house  of  '  Volderdoes  Zonen,'  I  mean." 

"  And  what  was  your  grandfather  ?  " 

"  He  was  the  same.  Papa." 

"  And  what  would  you  like  to  be  best  of  all,  if  you  could 
work?" 

"  I  don't  know.  Papa.     I  forget." 

"  Yes,  you  do  " — impatiently.     "  Think." 

A  silence.  Then  suddenly :  "  I  should  like  to  be  a 
doctor,  Papa,  and  make  all  the  sick  people  well." 

"  No,  no.  You  would  like  better  still  to  be  what  your 
father  and  grandfather  have  been,  would  you  not  ?  " 

"  Henk  may  be  that.  Papa." 


100  GOD'S  FOOL, 

"  Very  well,  so  he  may,  now  you  cau't.  But  you  ought 
to  have  been  it.  And  it  is  the  grandest  thing  in  the  world. 
But  now  you  will  like  llcndrik  to  be  it,  when  I  am  dead ; 
will  you  not?  What  would  you  do,  Elias,  if  people  came 
and  told  you,  after  my  death,  that  you  mustn't  allow  Ilen- 
drik  to  take  my  place  ?  " 

"  I  would  kill  them.  Papa."  The  strong  man  clenched 
his  fists,  and  involuntarily  spread  out  his  massive  chest. 

"  No,  no,  that  is  not  necessary.  But  you  would  tell 
them  that  Hendrik  must  take  it ;  would  you  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Papa,  but " — an  expression  of  extreme  anxiety — 
"  you  are  not  going  to  go  away,  are  you  ?  " 

"  No ;  I  hope  not.  But  listen,  Elias,  what  would  be- 
come of  you,  if  Volderdoes  Zonen  ceased  to  exist  ?  " 

"  I  should  die  of  hunger,"  answered  Elias  rapidly,  and 
by  rote.  "  Or  else  people  would  come  and  take  me  away, 
and  lock  me  up  in  an  asylum,  and  everything  would  be  very 
miserable  and  poor." 

"  That  is  true.     You  will  never  forget  it  ?  " 

"  No,  Papa." 

And  the  merchant  went  his  way. 

It  was  like  a  catechism. 

"  Johanna,"  said  Elias  presently,  "  why  are  some  people 
poor  and  some  people  rich  ?  " 

"  Because  it's  good  for  them,"  replied  Johanna,  who  was 
an  optimist,  or  she  could  not  have  lived  with  the  fool. 

"  And  am  I  rich  ?  "  asked  Elias. 

"  Yes.     Or  at  least  your  father  is." 

"  And  are  you  poor  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  It  seems  to  be  very  much  the  same  thing,"  declared 
Elias,  after  a  period  of  slow  thought.  "  I  suppose,  the  devil 
made  the  poor  people  first,  and  then  God  made  the  rich 
peojole  to  help  them,  and  so  he  put  it  all  right  again  ?  " 

Johanna  did  not  answer  him. 


VOLDEKDOES  ZONEN.  101 

"  I  am  glad  God  gave  us  '  Volderdoes  Zonen '  to  look 
after  ns,"  he  went  ou.  "  It  Avas  very  good  of  Ilim.  And 
I  shall  thank  Him  for  it  every  day." 

And  he  did. 

It  was  a  few  days  after  the  conversation  recorded  above, 
the  last  of  many,  tliat  Hendrik  Lossell's  tenure  of  office  as 
head  of  "  Volderdoes  Zonen  "  came  to  an  end. 

"  I  have  got  a  pain  in  the  left  side,"  he  said  to  his  wife 
at  breakfast  one  morning.  "Do  you  know,  I  think  it  must 
be  something  the  matter  with  my  heart.  I  have  felt  it  once 
or  twice  before,  of  late." 

"  Oh,  nonsense  !  "  rei)lied  Judith  carelessly.  "  How 
fussy  you  men  always  are !  It's  Just  nothing  but  a  little 
wind.     I  know  the  feeling  quite  well.     I've  had  it,  myself." 

He  did  not  continue  the  subject,  but  presently  got  up 
to  go  to  the  office  as  usual. 

Mevrouw  Lossell  followed  him  to  the  door. 

"  Don't  forget  to  look  in  at  Ramaker's,"  she  said,  "  and 
tell  them  to  be  quite  sure  to  have  the  fresh  turbot  for 
Tuesday.  It's  a  bad  day  for  fish.  I  wish  we  could  have 
had  our  dinner-party  on  another  day." 

"  I  can't  help  it,  Judith,"  he  replied,  a  little  wearily, 
"  as  I  told  you  before.  I  must  attend  the  Town  Council 
on  Wednesday,  and  the  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce on  Thursday,  and  yo^t  won't  have  it  on  a  Friday  or 
a  Saturday  ;  so  there  you  are." 

"Ah,  well ! "  she  said,  with  an  injured  air.  "  In  any 
case,  don't  forget." 

"  I  sha'n't  forget,"  he  replied,  and  was  gone. 

He  drove  out  to  Elias  first  this  morning,  as  he  noticed 
that  he  had  plenty  of  time.  He  had  made  it  a  rule,  from 
which  he  only  deviated  under  stress  of  circumstances,  to 
give  his  eldest  son  at  least  a  few  minutes  every  day,  but  he 
usually  wont  to  him  in  the  afternoon. 

Elias  was  surprised  and  delighted  to  receive  his  father 


102  GOD'S  FOOL. 

at  so  early  an  hour.  This  visit  was  a  continual  treat  to  him, 
the  great  event  of  his  uneventful  day.  For  Ilendrik  Los- 
sell  had  acquired  much  facility  in  Johanna's  method  of 
conversing  Avith  the  deaf  man — Elias's  method,  as  she 
proudly  called  it,  for  had  he  not  been  its  inventor  ? — and  in 
his  own  peculiar  way  the  father  was  kind  to  his  son,  kind 
almost  against  his  will,  one  would  feel  inclined  to  say.  It 
was  against  his  will  that  he  often  wished  Elias  dead ;  it  was 
against  his  will  that  he  often  treated  him  with  generosity 
and  affection.  This  unfortunate  son  was  to  him  not  so 
much  an  unpleasing  personage  as  an  adverse  circumstance. 
But  he  did  his  best — he  had  always  done  his  best — to  treat 
him  well,  none  the  less. 

"  Papa,"  said  Elias  this  morning,  "  Elias  tired.  Elias 
often  so  tired.     And  forget  words.     Elias  not  talk  much." 

"  It  is  one  of  his  bad  days,"  interposed  Johanna,  who 
had  been  bustling  about  the  room,  getting  things  ready  for 
her  charge,  "lie  has  been  complaining  of  headache  all 
the  morning.  AVhen  he  has  one  of  these  bad  headaches, 
he  is  very  dull  and  stupid.  I  think  they  get  rarer,  as  time 
goes  on,  but — do  you  know,  sir  ? — I  think  they  get  worse." 

The  father  went  up  to  his  son  and  stood  looking  at  him 
intently  for  some  moments.  Presently  he  groaned  audibly. 
And  then,  turning  suddenly  away,  as  if  to  hide  his  confu- 
sion, he  said  to  the  woman  : 

"  He  is  a  beautiful  man." 

"  Indeed,  that  he  is.  Mynheer,"  assented  Johanna  ener- 
getically. A  vision  rose  up  before  her  of  Henkie  and  Hub- 
hie,  yellow-faced,  sharp-featured,  groomed  and  oiled  and 
smartened  up,  as  she  turned  towards  the  silent,  statuesque 
figure,  motionless  in  its  customary  arm-chair,  and  stood 
gazing  lovingly  upon  that  noble  Olympian  head,  with  its 
glory  of  golden  curls  and  the  line  of  patient  suffering  over 
the  closed  and  tranquil  eyes. 

"  Good-bye,  Elias,"  spelled  the  father. 

"  Good-bye,  Papa." 


VOLDERDOES  ZONEN.  103 

"  You  love  me,  after  all — don't  you  ? — in  spite  of  all  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  love  you,  Papa." 

Hendrik  Lossell  turned  to  go.  The  woman  passed  out 
and  opened  the  hall-door  for  him. 

"  You  yourself  look  far  from  well,  sir,"  she  said. 
"  Hadn't  you  better  see  a  doctor  too,  once  in  a  way  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  all  riglit,  thank  you,  Johanna,"  he  answered, 
as  he  got  into  his  brougham. 

"  If  the  boy  becomes  completely  idiotic,"  he  muttered 
as  the  carriage  bore  him  away,  "  he  may  as  well  become  it 
without  loss  of  time.  It  would  be  the  best  thing  that  could 
happen,  I  suppose,  on  the  whole." 

He  almost  invariably  alluded  to  this  full-grown  son  as 
"  the  boy."  What  more  was  he  ?  Nay,  in  fact  he  was 
barely  that.  And  yet  he  was  not  a  child,  as  other  children 
are. 

The  merchant's  face  twitched  once  or  twice,  as  if  with 
sudden  pain,  and  he  gave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  the  coach- 
man drew  up  at  last  in  front  of  the  warehouse.  He  thought 
to  himself  with  a  half-smile,  as  he  let  himself  slowly  out  and 
crossed  the  busy  threshold,  that  it  was  now  more  than 
twenty-five  years  since  he  had  entered  the  office  at  that 
hour  as  a  partner  in  the  concern.  Day  after  day,  month 
after  month — but  for  an  occasional  brief  summer  holiday 
at  some  foreign  watering-place — had  he  done  what  he  was 
doing  now.  The  same  twist  through  the  same  side-door 
and  down  the  same  passage.  The  same  "  Good-days " 
among  yesterday's  unchanged  surroundings.  He  hung  up 
his  coat  and  hat  on  their  accustomed  peg.  And  then,  in 
turning  to  take  his  place  before  his  desk,  he  cast  the  same 
invariable  glance  towards  the  clock.  And  the  clock  marked 
the  same  invariable  hour. 

He  sat  down  and  drew  the  day's  bundle  of  business 
towards  him.  Hendrik  would  not  be  in  for  an  hour  or  so. 
"  No  use  trying  to  make  young  folks  give  up  old  habits,"  he 
said  to  himself. 


104  GOD'S  FOOL. 

And  then  he  settled  down  to  the  day's  work. 

A  packer  hud  been  turned  off  for  carelessness,  and  had 
appealed  from  his  immediate  superior  to  Caesar.  Ilendrik 
Lossell  went  into  the  matter  as  was  his  wont.  He  found 
that  the  man  had  indeed  been  to  blame,  though  in  no  seri- 
ous degree,  but  he  maintained  the  dismissal,  in  spite  of 
prayers  and  entreaties. 

"  Not  time  enough  for  good  work,"  he  repeated,  "  still 
less  for  bad."    And  then  he  returned  to  his  own. 

And  when  Hendrik  Junior  came  in  about  half  an  hour 
later,  he  found  that  our  common  master,  Death,  had 
touched  the  chief  of  the  great  house  of  "  Volderdoes 
Zonen,"  and  dismissed  him  from  his  post. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   HEAD    OF   THE    FIRM. 

Hendrik  Lossell,  Hendrik  Junior  no  longer,  stepped 
towards  tlie  glass  doors  and  drew  them  to.  Then  with  one 
rapid  jerk  of  the  wrist  he  swept  the  hroad  "  portiere,"  which 
hung  handy,  across  that  wide  surface  of  glass.  From  time 
to  time  the  chief  of  the  house  would  thus  close  out  the 
office,  when  he  wanted  to  be  alone.  And  then  the  son  went 
back  to  his  father's  prostrate  figure,  thrown  forward  across 
the  desk.  He  did  not  for  one  moment  doubt  that  this  was 
death.  He  saw  the  seal  set  plainly  upon  the  rigid  face. 
"  Death,"  he  said  in  an  undertone,  and  his  little  figure 
trembled  from  head  to  foot  with  a  couple  of  quick,  nervous 
thrills.  And  then  he  drew,  with  unsteady  hand,  the  keys  of 
the  great  safe  from  his  father's  trousers  pocket,  where  he 
knew  they  were  always  kept.  He  had  to  unfasten  a  button 
of  the  pocket  to  get  at  them,  and  for  a  moment  he  shrank 
back  in  disgust.  "  Allons,"  he  said,  aloud.  And  then  he 
struck  a  quick  blow  on  his  father's  bell,  and,  holding  the 
curtained  door  ajar  for  one  moment,  he  called  out  the  name 
of  the  head  clerk,  his  father's  right  hand. 

"  Meneer  Trols." 

He  started  at  the  loudness  of  his  own  voice  in  that 
chamber  of  death. 

The  person  thus  summoned  came  hurrying  wp.  He 
passed  beyond  the  curtain,  and  appeared  in  the  sanctum, 
his  face  lighted  by  a  look  of  expectation  he  was  striving  to 


106  GOD'S  FOOL. 

restrain.     Ilendrik  was  standing  by  the  table  where  lay  his 
fatlicr's  corpse. 

"  Mynheer  Trols,"  he  began  nervously,  "  something  ter- 
rible has  happened.     Something  very  terrible  indeed." 

"  Good  God,  sir,  the  master !  "  cried  the  clerk,  running 
round  to  the  figure  in  the  chair. 

"  Do  not  interrupt  me,"  fired  up  Ilendrik .  angrily. 
"  Yes,  something  has  happened  to  my  father " 

"  He  is  dead !  "  cried  the  clerk,  unheeding.  He  had 
lifted  the  fallen  head,  and  was  striving  to  retain  it  in  his 
arms. 

"  Hush,  you  fool  !  "  burst  out  Hendrik  fiercely.  "  Do 
you  want  the  whole  office  to  hear  you  ?  Don't  you  see  it's 
far  worse  for  me  than  for  you,  and  I  don't  go  on  like  that. 

It's  my  father.     Be  a  man.     D me,  what  a  fool  you 

are ! " 

For  the  clerk  was  striving  in  vain  to  control  the  work- 
ings of  his  face.     The  old  fellow  was  crying. 

"  Go  back  into  the  office,  as  soon  as  you're  fit  to,"  said 
Hendrik  contemptuously,  "  and  say  that  Mynheer  has  been 
taken  ill,  and  that  I  have  gone  home  with  him.  But  first 
tell  one  of  the  men  to  run  for  a  cab,  and  then  you  and  I 
will  lift  in — him.  I  don't  want  it  to  be  known  he  died  in 
the  office.  Do  you  understand  ?  It  will  be  given  out  that 
he  died  at  home." 

"  Yes,"  said  Trols,  speaking  as  a  man  in  a  maze.  "  But 
why  put  it  so  ?    If " 

"  You  understand  me,  M3'nheer  Trols,"  interrupted 
Hendrik.     "  Please  to  order  the  cab." 

When  the  clerk  returned  from  this  mission,  he  found 
young  Lossell  sitting  at  his  own  desk,  with  his  back  turned 
to — that  thing — on  the  table. 

"  I  will  tell  you.  Mynheer  Trols,"  said  Hendrik,  "  why 
I  wish  to  return  home  with — with  my  father.  There  is  no 
reason  why  the  day's  business  should  be  disturbed.  In  fact, 
it  can't  be,  as  you  know.     Not  to-day,  of  all  days.     The 


THE   HEAD   OF  THE  FIRM,  107 

Jeanndie  sails  tliis  evening,  and  she  must  take  our  cargo 
with  her.  It  is  a  matter  of  forty  thousand  florins.  I  can't 
shut  up  the  office  to-day." 

"  But,  sir,"  stammered  the  head  clerk,  "  I  believe  that 
Mynheer  had  just  spoken  of  countermanding  the  consign- 
ment. He  had  heard  bad  accounts  of  the  firm  in  Copen- 
hagen. And  even  if  it  were  not  so,  would  it  not  be  better, 
in  the  face  of  so  appalling  a  catastrophe " 

"Not  a  word  more,"  interrupted  Hendrik  haughtily. 
"  Remember,  if  you  please.  Mynheer  Trols,  that  I  am  the 
head  of  '  Volderdoes  Zonen '  now." 

"  What  will  become  of  us  ?  "  said  Trols  to  himself,  as  he 
went  back  to  his  desk,  after  having  aided  his  young  master 
and  obeyed  all  his  commands.  "  A  boy  of  nineteen  !  He 
can't  be  the  chief,  whatever  he  may  say.  He  isn't  even  of 
age,  nor  will  he  be  for  the  next  four  years.  I  wonder 
whether  I  am  right  in  executing  this  order.  Well,  I  can't 
help  it.  I  suppose  I  must.  But  common  decency  would 
have  shut  up  the  place  for  the  day." 

And  so  young  Hendrik  inaugurated  his  reign.  It  may 
be  a  satisfaction  to  the  reader  who  likes  to  know  everything 
to  be  told  that  the  Copenhagen  house  failed  in  the  course  of 
a  month  or  two,  so  that  the  little  job  above  mentioned  cost 
Volderdoes  Zonen  the  sum  of  thirty-seven  thousand  four 
hundred  florins  and  ninety-three  cents. 

"  And  now,  mother,"  said  Hendrik,  "  let  us  see  how  mat- 
ters stand.  You  may  as  well  call  in  Huib,  and  we  can  all 
talk  it  over  together."  ^ 

They  were  sitting  lugubriously  facing  each  other  by  the 
dying  dining-room  fire.  The  remnants  of  dinner — an  un- 
touched dessert — stood  on  the  table,  under  the  dim  light  of 
a  lamp  which  left  three-quarters  of  the  room  in  mysterious 
gloom.  The  meal  had  been  a  silent  one,  and  Hubert  had 
escaped  from  it  to  his  own  room  as  soon  as  possible.     Hu- 


lOS  GOD'S  FOOL. 

bert  was  frightened  and  saddened  by  his  father's  sudden 
death.  His  was  a  gentle  nature  ;  and  he  attached  himself 
to  his  surroundings. 

Ilendrik  got  up,  as  his  mother  left  the  room,  and  sta- 
tioned himself  in  front  of  the  fireplace.  He  shuddered 
slightly  as  he  stared  into  the  darkness  of  the  dreary  dis- 
tance. 

Over  the  whole  house  hung  that  incomprehensible  at- 
mosphere of  death,  which  lights  up  the  monotony  of  exist- 
ence with  a  sudden  glare  of  false  electric  light,  bringing  out 
in  lines  of  unexpected  nakedness  the  littleness  of  daily  wants 
and  duties  and  throwing  into  full  relief  the  reality  of  our 
turbulent  consciousness  against  the  great  still  shadow  of  the 
beyond. 

"  I  am  alive,"  said  Hendrik  to  himself,  not  in  so  many 
words,  but  in  a  thought  he  was  unconscious  of  thinking. 
He  had  been  feeling  it  thus  to  himself  all  day.  He  rang 
the  bell. 

"  Is  there  a  fire  in  my  mother's  room  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  said  the  servant ;  they  had  forgotten  to  light  it. 
The  servants  sat  huddled  together  in  the  kitchen,  de- 
scribing to  each  other  all  the  corpses  they  had  ever  seen, 
with  comments  upon  their  greater  or  lesser  beauty  and  upon 
the  ravages  caused  by  various  diseases.  The  cook  had  occa- 
sioned a  little  unpleasant  feeling  by  the  statement  that  she 
had  owned  an  aunt  the  cost  of  whose- funeral  had  amounted 
to  over  a  hundred  florins.  To  this  poetic  license  the  others 
had  taken  exception,  even  when  the  items,  as  described, 
had  been  carefully  totted  up  by  the  butler,  and  their  voices 
had  risen  for  a  moment  in  indignant  discussion,  only  to  be 
suddenly  hushed  into  whispers  of  mutual  disparagement, 
when  somebody  recalled  the  fact  that  their  master  was  lying 
"  barely  cold  "  upstairs. 

The  pretty  housemaid  rubbed  her  warm  arm  approvingly 
with  one  rough  little  hand.  And  the  butler  said  senten- 
tiously  that  it  was  a  good  thing  the  dead  had  to  leave  their 


THE  HEAD  OP  THE  FIRM.  109 

money  behind  them,  and  he  dared  say  that  Mevrouw  would 
keep  up  everything  just  as  it  was.  They  all  looked  at  each 
other.  That  was  an  interesting  subject,  and  it  caused 
them  to  forget  the  cook's  ostentatious  relative.  They  were 
discussing  probabilities  when  the  dining-room  bell  rang. 

"  Bring  a  couple  more  lamps,  then ;  we  shall  stay  here," 
said  Hendrik  to  the  butler.  "  Commanding  like  a  king," 
remarked  the  latter  gentleman  on  his  way  downstairs.  It 
was  true  that  the  nineteen-year-old  son  of  the  house  had  at 
once  assumed  an  air  of  proprietorship.  He  felt  that  he  was 
become  the  head  of  the  family  as  well  as  of  the  firm.  And 
without  noticing  the  change  himself  he  had  allowed  his 
voice  and  manner  to  take  a  shade  of  authority  in  conse- 
quence. 

Yesterday,  you  see — whatever  he  might  think  he  merited 
— he  knew  that  he  was  of  very  little  importance  to  anyone 
but  himself,  while  to-day — why,  to-day  he  was  almost  as  im- 
portant as  his  father  had  been  yesterday — had  been  this 
morning.  His  father !  Avho  had  always  seemed  to  him  the 
ideal  of  a  social  magnate,  whose  will  governed  as  many  in- 
ferior wills  as  that  of  the  colonel  of  a  regiment,  and  with 
far  more  unlimited  power. 

He  was  a  minor,  of  course,  but  he  had  not  the  slightest 
doubt  that  he  would  immediately  obtain  letters  of  dispensa- 
tion. "Who  else  could  manage  the  business  but  he  ?  He 
was  quite  confident  that  he  could  manage  the  business. 
That  was  the  great  weakness  in  his  strength,  his  overween- 
ing self-assurance,  and  it  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  many 
misfortunes  which  befell  him  in  his  after-life. 

When  his  mother  came  back  with  her  other  son,  she 
found  the  lamps  distributed  over  the  room  as  was  custom- 
ary on  the  occasion  of  a  dinner-party.  The  festive  impres- 
sion thus  effected  struck  unpleasantly  on  her  freshly-wid- 
owed heart.  It  called  up  painful  recollections  of  her  last 
conversation  with  her  husband  that  morning,  and  of  the 


110  GOD'S  FOOL. 

invitations  for  next  Tuesday  which  had  already  been  sent 
round. 

"  Why  all  these  lights  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  hate  a  half-light,"  answered  Ilendrik  abruptly. 
"  "What  do  you  care,  mother  ?  There'll  be  money  enough  to 
pay  for  a  little  extra  lamp-oil,  I  should  think." 

"  Papa  wouldn't  understand,  if  he  came  in,"  interposed 
Hubert.     "  The  room  never  looks  like  that." 

Hendrik  glanced  scornfully  at  his  twin-brother.  "  I 
thought  you  knew  our  father  is  dead,"  he  said.  "  It's  no 
use  speculating  on  what  he  would  do  if  he  wasn't." 

"  I  know  he  is  dead,"  replied  Hubert  quickly.  "  But 
he  is  barely  dead,  Henk."  And  again  the  tears  gathered 
in  his  eyes. 

Hendrik  vouchsafed  no  answer.  He  drew  a  chair  for- 
ward for  his  mother,  and  then  said  abruptly :  "  Mother, 
here  are  father's  keys."  And  he  threw  them  down  on  the 
white  table-cloth.  In  his  nervousness  he  threw  them  more 
violently  than  he  had  intended.  They  struck  against  a 
wine-glass,  and  broke  it. 

"  Oh,  Hendrik !  "  expostulated  his  mother,  "  one  of  your 
grandfather's  set ! " 

"  Not  my  grandfather's,"  replied  Hendrik.  "  That's 
where  the  difference  comes  in.  These  social  courtesies 
are  all  very  pretty,  but  when  it  comes  to  legal  documents 
you  soon  find  out  that  your  stepbrother's  grandfather 
never  was  yours.  We  shall  have  to  distinguish  henceforth 
between  Elias  and  ourselves." 

"  Not  as  regards  these  matters,"  said  his  mother.  She 
did  not  say  what  matters,  but  they  understood  each  other 
perfectly. 

"  In  these  matters,  and  in  all  others.  And  therefore  the 
sooner  we  know  exactly  how  we  stand,  the  better.  I  shall 
go  down  to  the  office  to-morrow  as  usual,  and  Trols  must 
sign  till  I  can  get  the  proper  authorization.  It's  a  good 
thing  he  is  empowered  to  sign  for  the  firm." 


THE  HEAD  OP  THE  FIRM.  m 

"  Couldn't  you  stay  at  home  till  after  the  funeral  ? " 
queried  his  mother. 

"  Yes,  if  they  shut  up  the  '  Exchange '  till  then,"  sneered 
the  new  head  of  the  house.  "  Now,  mother,  there  are  the 
keys,  as  I  said,  and  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  look  over 
my  father's  papers.  It's  no  use  waiting  till  you  feel  in- 
clined, for  you  won't  feel  any  inclineder  to-morrow  than 
to-day." 

"  I  did  not  say  I  did  not  feel  inclined,"  said  Judith. 

"Hubert,  you  take  one  lamp,  and  I'll  take  another," 
Hendrik  continued,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  And 
so  they  passed  together,  the  three  of  them,  into  the  dead 
man's  room. 

The  dead  man's  room  does  not  die  with  him.  On  the 
contrary,  it  becomes  far  more  vividly,  far  more  painfully 
alive  than  it  was  before  his  death.  It  seems  to  be  breathing, 
almost  audibly,  and  as  you  stand  there,  lamp  in  hand,  amid 
the  twilight,  all  its  thousand  and  one  little  trifling  objects 
seem  to  be  opening  their  new-found  eyes  and  staring 
gloomily  at  you.  And  when  your  glance  falls  unexpectedly 
on  the  dead  man's  hat  and  gloves,  you  realize,  as  you  never 
realized  before,  that  he  is  dead. 

Judith  Lossell  took  up  a  woollen  comforter,  which  she 
had  only  recently  knitted  for  her  husband.  She  had  noticed 
that  morning  that  he  had  neglected  to  put  it  on,  and  she 
had  felt  a  twinge  of  displeasure  at  the  thought  of  his 
holding  her  gift  in  such  light  esteem.  Now,  as  she  took  it 
meditatively  in  her  hands,  a  couple  of  tears  dropped  slowly 
on  the  wrap. 

"  Lift  up  your  lamp,  so  I  can  see,  Huib,"  said  Hen- 
drik. 

He  had  set  down  his  own  and  was  trying  the  keys  on 
his  father's  private  "  Chatwood." 

The  safe  contained  two  compartments,  the  one,  with  a 
second  door,  being  reserved  for  stock,  while  in  the  other 
lay  all  important  documents,  not  actually  convertible  into 


112  GOD'S   FOOL. 

ready  money.  It  was  these  that  Hendrik  drew  out,  leav- 
ing the  inner  division  untouched. 

"  We  can't  stop  here,"  he  said,  "  it's  too  cold.  Mother, 
would  you  mind  carrying  my  lamp  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  not  here,"  said  Hubert,  in  a  whisper. 

They  went  back  to  the  dining-room.  "  Lock  the  door, 
Ilubert,"  said  Hendrik,  and  he  pushed  away  the  dessert 
things  to  make  a  clear  space  for  the  bundle  he  had  brought 
with  him.  His  mother  came  to  the  rescue  of  her  crockery, 
as  Hendrik  flung  down  the  papers  with  a  thud  in  a  stream 
over  the  white  table-cloth.  And  then  they  gathered  around, 
and  watched,  the  while  he  sorted  them.  Presently  a 
hungry  flash  passed  through  his  eyes.  It  was  gone  in  an 
instant.  "  This  is  it,"  he  said,  as  he  laid  down  the  paper 
he  had  just  taken  up. 

It  was  the  will. 

He  began  reading  it  rapidly,  the  others  waiting  im- 
patiently meanwhile.  Divested  of  its  legal  preamble  it  was 
very  short  indeed. 

"  My  eldest  son  Elias  being  otherwise  provided  for,"  said 
the  testator,  "  I  bequeath  to  him  only  that  legal  portion  of 
which  I  could  not  deprive  him  if  I  would,  while  I  ap- 
point my  twin  sons,  his  half-brothers,  Hendrik  and  Hubert, 
heirs  of  all  other  property  of  which  I  die  possessed." 

In  Holland  a  parent  cannot  entirely  disinherit  his 
or  her  child,  but  must  leave  it  a  fraction  of  the  inherit- 
ance. 

Hendrik  laid  down  the  document.  "  That  was  the  best 
arrangement  father  could  make,"  he  said  with  a  complacent 
smile.  "  What's  the  use  of  leaving  money  to  a  half-witted 
creature  like  Elias,  who  already  has  his  mother's  money 
probably,  besides  ?  You  and  I  must  be  Volderdoes  Zonen, 
henceforth,  Huib." 

"  But  you  haven't  found  out  about  Elias's  money  yet," 
said  Hubert  quietly. 

"  Oh,  that's  his  mother's  fortune,  of  course,  which  has 


THE  HEAD  OF  THE  FIRM.  113 

been  invested  in  Government  securities  during  his  minority. 
The  law  arranges  all  that,  Hubert." 

"I  know,"  said  Hubert,  without  any  sign  of  impa- 
tience. 

"Wait  till  you  see,"  interposed  Judith.  She  recalled 
several  dark  threats  of  her  husband's,  and  her  heart  was 
not  at  rest. 

"Find  Papa's  marriage-settlement,"  suggested  Hubert. 
He  often  thought,  while  Hendrik  was  busy. 

"  Here  is  yours,  mother,"  said  Hendrik,  fumbling  among 
the  papers. 

"  I  know,"  answered  Judith  angrily.  "  It's  the  other 
woman's  you  want." 

They  found  it.  It  was  a  lengthy  document,  a  marriage- 
settlement  in  propria  forma.  It  settled  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  thousand  florins  on  Hendrik  Lossell's  first  wife, 
and  it  tied  down  all  the  money  she  would  ever  possess  to 
herself  and  her  heirs  for  ever.  The  money  was  tied  down 
as  tight  as  family  pride  can  tie. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Hendrik,  "  and  quite  right  too.  One 
hundred  thousand  florins  at  her  marriage.  The  only  ques- 
tion which  now  remains  to  be  answered  is  this  :  What  did 
old  Elias  Volderdoes's  death  add  on  to  that  original  sum  ?  " 

"  No  trifle  probably,"  remarked  Judith. 

"  We  shall  hardly  find  an  answer  to  that  here,"  said 
Hendrik,  pushing  the  various  documents  apart  with  his 
hand. 

But  they  did.  For  they  found  a  copy  of  old  Elias's  will. 
By-the-bye,  all  these  papers  were  copies.  Dutch  law  recog- 
nizes no  wills  except  such  as  are  deposited  in  the  hands  of 
the  attorneys,  who  are  Government  ofiicials. 

And  these  were  the  contents  of  old  Elias's  will. 

The  old  gentleman  disinherited  his  daughter,  thereby 
setting  the  example  which  that  daughter's  husband  after- 
wards followed  with  regard  to  their  child.  He  decreed  that 
the  large  sum  of  which  he  could  not  deprive  her  was  to  be 
8 


114  GOD'S  FOOL. 

taken  from  the  money  which  he  had  invested  in  the  funds, 
and  this  sum,  according  to  the  marriage-settlements,  would 
pass  to  her  children  at  her  death. 

And  then  he  came  to  the  capital  which  was  invested  in 
the  business.  This  capital  had  been  divided,  shortly  before 
the  old  man's  death,  into  one  hundred  shares  of  ten  thou- 
sand florins  each.  Of  these  shares  five  only  had  been  allotted 
to  Hendrik  Lossell,  while  the  remaining  ninety-five  had  re- 
mained the  property  of  Elias  Volderdoes,  the  head  of  the 
firm. 

These  ninety-five  shares  the  old  gentleman  now  left  to 
his  grandchild  and  godson  Elias,  with  the  express  stipulation 
that  they  were  forthwith  to  be  registered  in  his  name. 
And  furthermore  it  was  expressly  directed  that,  if  the  boy's 
mother  were  to  die  while  he  was  under  age,  all  profits  re- 
sulting from  these  shares  were  yearly  to  be  invested  to  the 
said  boy's  advantage,  after  deduction  of  fifteen  per  cent,  by 
the  father.  The  money  was  to  remain  thus  tied  up,  the 
testator  went  on  to  say,  as  long  as  the  child  was  under 
guardianship  or  curatorship  of  any  kind,  and  alterations 
could  only  be  made,  when  he  was  able  to  make  them  of  his 
own  free  will. 

Such,  in  brief,  were  the  contents  of  this  singular  docu- 
ment, when  divested  of  all  technicalities  and  superfluities. 
The  testator  had  known,  when  he  made  these  restrictions, 
that  his  daughter,  already  ailing  and  near  death,  would 
have  no  other  offspring  than  Elias.  He  had  centred  all  his 
hope  on  this  his  only  male  descendant.  For  his  son-in-law, 
the  penniless  robber  of  his  daughter's  heart,  he  had  never 
felt  any  very  great  affection,  but  other  near  relations  he  had 
none,  and,  if  Elias  died,  well,  then  there  would  be  nothing 
left  worth  caring  for,  and  Elias's  father  might  as  well  have 
the  money  as  anyone  else. 

But  the  old  man  did  not  believe  that  Elias  would  die. 
He  had  his  little  private  superstitions,  and  he  believed  in 
the  future  of  Volderdoes  Zonen  with  Elias  at  their  head. 


THE  HEAD  OF  THE  FIRM.  115 

The  result,  then,  of  old  Volderdoes's  will,  in  connection 
with  the  previous  marriage  contract,  was  this,  that  every 
penny  of  the  vast  Volderdoes  property  was  settled  on  Elias 
Lossell,  and  that  Elias's  father  had  only  enjoyed  the  in- 
terest on  his  wife's  legal  portion  and  the  fifteen  per  cent, 
on  Elias's  dividends  during  the  years  between  Margaretha's 
death  and  Elias's  twentieth  birthday.  After  that  birthday 
even  this  source  of  revenue  had  failed,  as  all  moneys  derived 
from  the  minor's  property  must  thenceforth  be  allowed  to 
accumulate,  according  to  the  requirements  of  Dutch  law. 

This,  however,  was  not  the  worst.  The  worst  was  un- 
doubtedly that  the  capital  of  the  firm  had  been  so  securely 
tied  down  for  Elias  that  there  was  no  getting  it  loose,  unless 
he  himself  consented  to  unfasten  it.  Any  attempt  to  ficti- 
tiously increase  that  capital — an  expedient  of  very  doubtful 
eflicacy — was  rendered  impossible  by  the  terms  of  the  origi- 
nal agreement. 

I  do  not  know  whether  I  have  given  the  exact  stipula- 
tions, as  they  ought  to  have  been  stated,  for,  of  course,  I 
have  never  seen  the  original  documents,  which  are  at  the 
notary's,  nor  the  authenticated  copies,  Avhich  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  Lossell  family,  but  I  believe  that  all  I  have  re- 
peated here  is  substantially  accurate,  and  no  doubt  it  will 
be  found  sufficient  for  the  requirements  of  this  story  of 
Elias's  fortunes. 

Young  Hendrik  sat  reading  the  transcript  of  Elias's 
grandfather's  will  with  increasing  rapidity  and  heightening 
colour.  When  he  came  to  the  term  "  guardianship  or  cura- 
torship,"  a  subdued  exclamation  broke  from  him,  which 
need  not  here  be  repeated.  He  threw  the  paj^er  across  to 
his  mother. 

"  Every  penny  is  Elias's  ! "  he  burst  out  wildly.  "  Great 
Heaven,  that  blind  idiot  is  the  head  of  the  firm ! " 


CIIArTER  XIV. 

NO   THOROUGHFARE,    AND   THE    WAT   OUT. 

"  Poor  Elias  !  "  said  Hubert. 

Perhaps  he  had  never  realized  so  much  as  at  tliat  mo- 
ment what  an  immense  injury  he  had  unwittingly  done  his 
stepbrother. 

And  yet  he  often  remembered.  It  would  not  be  correct 
to  say  that  he  always  did  so,  nor  that  the  recollection  sad- 
dened his  entire  life.  But  it  sobered  it,  casting  a  shadow  at 
times  over  its  most  brilliant  sunshine.  It  was,  if  you  can 
pardon  the  simile,  like  a  hollow  tooth  in  his  heart,  and  when 
he  bit  on  it  he  pulled  a  face.  He  hardly  liked  to  be  thrown 
much  in  company  with  Elias.  For  Elias  reminded  him  of 
the  tooth. 

"  Poor  you  !  "  retorted  Hendrik.  "  Pity  yourself  and 
me,  if  you  want  to  waste  pity  on  anyone.  Or  shall  we  still 
speak  of  '  dear  Grandpapa,'  when  we  remember  the  old 
gentleman  up  there  ?  "  He  jerked  his  head  in  the  direction 
of  the  great  portrait  of  Elias  Volderdoes,  which  smiled 
down  from  the  wall  with  its  air  of  sly  pomposity. 

There  came  a  knock  at  the  dining-room  door. 

"  Who's  there  ? "  cried  Hendrik  impatiently,  sweeping 
his  arm  over  the  scattered  papers.  "  Go  and  be  hanged  ! 
Yon  can't  come  in." 

Hubert  went  to  the  door.  It  was  the  man-servant,  come 
to  clear  away. 

Hendrik  passed  out  to  him.  "  The  notary  must  be  sent 
for  at  once,"  he  said.  "And  Mynheer  Alers,  also.  You 
know,  my  friend,  the  lawyer.     He  had  better  come  after  the 


NO  THOROUGHFARE,  AND  THE   WAY  OUT.        II7 

notary  is  gone.  Ask  liim  to  step  round  in  half  an  hour, 
Mulder." 

He  went  back  to  the  others. 

"  And  yet,  I  suppose  it  is  only  fair,"  said  Hubert.  "  The 
firm  was  originally  Volderdoes,  and  Elias  is  the  only  one  of 
us  who  has  any  Volderdoes  blood  in  his  veins." 

"  You  are  a  child,  Hubert,"  cried  his  brother,  "  and  a 
stupid  one.  It  is  not  fair.  Evei-yone  had  a  right  to  expect 
that,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  such  unceasing  work, 
my  father  would  have  bought  out  any  share  his  first  wife 
had  in  the  business.  And  so  he  would  have,  over  and  over 
again,  but  for  this  blackguardly  clause.  He  has  been  work- 
ing all  the  time,  like  a  horse,  merely  to  heap  up  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  florins  for  an  idiot  to  whom  they  are  not  of 
the  slightest  use.  I  can't  imagine  what  made  him  keep  at 
it  so  hard,  under  the  circumstances,  unless  it  was  because 
he  couldn't  do  things  otherwise  than  well.  He  was  a  splen- 
did man  of  business,  was  my  father.  I  wish  you  and  I  may 
be  like  him." 

It  was  his  tribute  of  esteem  to  his  dead  father's  memory. 
And,  coming  from  a  young  gentleman  of  his  wisdom  and 
self-respect,  it  was  not  a  little  thing. 

"  After  all,"  he  added  presently,  "  Papa  must  have  left  a 
lot  of  money  behind  him.  I  dare  say  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty there.  But  what  is  to  become  of  Volderdoes  Zonen 
Providence  alone  can  tell." 

His  voice  faltered  with  sincere  emotion  over  the  final 
words. 

Yet  another  disappointment  awaited  Judith  Lossell  and 
her  sons.  It  could  not  be  long  before  they  made  the  dis- 
covery that  the  Town  Councillor  had  not  left  a  large  fortune 
behind  him.  And,  truly,  young  Hendrik  was  deserving  of 
pity,  as  he  fell  from  one  disclosure  to  another.  Soon  the 
whole  truth  lay  bare  before  him,  and  he  must  face  it  as  best 
he  could. 


118  GOD'S  FOOL, 

The  very  fact  of  his  having  been  bound  down  to  what 
he  must  consider  perpetual  poverty  had  driven  the  merchant 
into  repeated  specuhition  as  the  one  means  of  achieving  a 
fortune.  During  the  short  period  of  his  marriage  his  in- 
come had  been  very  large,  and  even  after  his  wife's  death, 
up  to  Elias's  twentieth  year,  it  had  remained  considerable, 
although  his  share  of  the  great  profits  of  the  firm  had  then 
become  restricted  to  the  dividends  on  his  own  five  shares 
and  the  fifteen  per  cent,  allotted  him  on  his  son's  large 
revenue.  With  the  money  he  had  been  enabled  to  lay  on 
one  side  he  had  speculated  on  the  Stock  Exchange — "for 
my  children's  sake,"  he  told  himself,  but  not  with  the  suc- 
cess so  worthy  an  object  merited.  Of  late,  especially,  when 
his  income  had  so  much  decreased,  his  attempts  to  make 
good  the  deficit  had  proved  singularly  unfortunate,  and 
when  he  died,  stricken  down  suddenly,  and  still  in  the  prime 
of  life,  he  left  liabilities  which  far  exceeded  the  value  of  his 
personal  estate.  The  great  firm  of  Volderdoes  Zonen  was 
as  wealthy  and  prosperous  as  ever,  but  its  head  was  practi- 
cally insolvent. 

The  merchant,  it  must  be  said  to  his  honour,  had  been 
scrupulously  upright  in  the  administration  of  his  son's 
fortune.  How  easy  it  would  have  been  for  him  to  slur  over 
accounts,  nay,  actually  to  ignore  them.  But,  once  having 
bound  himself  down  to  this  contract  by  which  he  accepted 
the  position  of  acting  partner  on  five  shares  and  fifteen  per 
cent,  of  all  remaining  net  profits,  with  his  son  as  sleeping 
partner  and  owner  of  the  whole  business,  he  had  drawn  up 
his  annual  accounts  as  if  a  board  of  directors  were  waiting 
to  audit  them.  While  practically  poor  himself,  he  had 
heaped  up  his  sou's  great  fortune  with  consistent  accuracy. 
It  lay  there,  gradually  swelling  to  a  total  such  as  is  rarely 
met  with  in  Holland ;  it  lay  useless,  and,  as  long  as  Elias 
lived,  there  it  must  lie.  Hendrik  Lossell's  commercial 
integrity  accepted  the  terrible  fact  as  inevitable.  It  might 
cause  him  to  wish  at  times  for  the  death  of  the  hopeless 


NO  THOROUGHFARE,  AND  THE  WAY   OUT.       119 

owner,  but  lie  had  never  taken  any  steps  by  wliicli  his  father^ 
in-law's  wishes  might  be  set  aside. 

And  yet,  when  his  son  came  of  age,  he  could  easily  have 
attempted  some  adjustment  of  his  difficulties.  He  had 
shrunk  from  doing  so.  Perhaps  he  had  remained  for  some 
time  hesitating  and  uncertain,  and  on  that  very  account 
had  delayed  the  appointment  of  a  curator.  Perhaps  he 
had  preferred  to  leave  the  whole  matter  to  his  heirs,  presum- 
ing that  they  would  be  less  scrupulous  than  he. 

However  this  might  be,  he  had  lived  up  to  his  standard 
of  honour ;  and,  when  he  was  suddenly  struck  down,  the 
enormous  fortune  of  Elias  was  found  intact  in  the  hands 
of  the  family  notary,  in  so  far  as  it  was  not  already  secured 
in  Dutch  consols  or  in  the  shares  of  the  firm.  He  had 
brought  it  to  the  above-mentioned  functionary  a  few  days 
before  his  death.  It  was  as  if  he  no  longer  trusted  him- 
self, after  all  these  faithful  years,  to  have  it  lying  ready  for 
immediate  use.  For,  indeed,  he  might  easily  have  used  it, 
if  only  as  security. 

When  young  Hendrik,  with  white  face  and  smarting 
eyes,  walked  into  his  father's  deserted  room,  and  drew  forth 
the  second  key  and  opened  the  inner  division  of  the  safe, 
he  found  it  empty. 

He  went  up  to  his  mother's  bedroom  and  knocked  at  the 
door. 

"  You  can't  come  in,  Hendrik." 

"  But  I  must,  mother." 

"  You  can't.     I  have  the  dressmaker  with  me." 

"  Send  her  away,  somewhere,  anywhere.  I  must  come 
in" — this  in  French,  which  the  dressmaker  understood 
perfectly.  "  Tell  her  to  go  downstairs  and  make  dresses 
for  the  servants.  All  the  servants  must  go  into  mourning. 
I  should  think  so.     H  y  a  de  quoi." 

"  Je  ne  travaille  pas  pour  la  domesticite,  Madame,"  said 
the  dressmaker  inside,  indignantly,  wishing  to   show  that 


120  GOD'S  FOOL. 

she  also  could  speak  the  language  of  fashion  and  fashions, 
as  well  as  young  gentlemen  who  dealt  in  tea, 

"  I  know,  I  know,  my  good  creature,"  replied  Judith 
wearily.  "  It's  only  that  he  wants  to  come  in.  You  might 
as  Avell  take  that  bodice  into  the  next  room  and  alter  the 
tucker.     He  will  only  be  a  minute,  I  dare  say." 

"  I  could  do  it  better  at  home,"  said  the  dressmaker 
peevishly. 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  replied  tlie  mistress  of  the  house. 
"  You  see  he  says  he  wants  to  come  in.  And  I  suppose  he 
must."  All  her  strength  seemed  to  have  gone  out  of  her. 
She  was  rapidly  learning  to  "  knuckle  under  "  to  her  son. 

At  this  Juncture  Hendrik  rattled  the  door  lock.  He  was 
getting  tired  of  waiting. 

"  Eenvoyez-la,"  he  cried. 

The  dressmaker  came  out,  casting  annihilating  glances 
at  the  young  tyrant.  They  did  not  annihilate  him,  how- 
ever, because  he  did  not  see  them.  He  rushed  past  her,  at 
a  bound,  and  into  his  mother's  presence. 

"  Mother !  "  he  cried.  "  This  is  no  time  for  fooling. 
Borlett  will  be  here  in  ten  minutes,  and  I  must  know  what 
to  say  to  him.  My  father's  left  nothing  but  debts.  And 
who's  to  pay  them  ?  The  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  repu- 
diate the  inheritance  at  once." 

Judith  Lossell  turned  very  pale.  All  the  pride  of  this 
wife  and  daughter  of  merchants  rose  up  in  terrified  protest. 
Such  disgrace  was  impossible.  Who  could  lift  up  his  head 
again  after  it? 

"  Eefuse  to  pay  the  debts !  "  she  stammered.  "  Hendrik, 
what  can  you  be  thinking  of  ?  Whatever  happens,  we  could 
never  sink  as  low  as  that." 

"  We  shall  have  to,"  said  Hendrik  sullenly. 

The  poor  woman  turned  from  one  falling  pillar  and 
clutched  feebly  at  another. 

"  Hubert  would  never  allow  it,"  she  said. 

"  Hubert !  Hubert !  "  cried  Hendrik  in  a  towering  rage. 


NO  THOROUGHFARE,  AND  THE  WAY  OUT.        121 

"  And  who  is  Hubert,  and  wliat  is  Hubert,  pray,  to  allow  or 
disallow  ?  Will  he  make  money  for  us  out  of  pebbles,  with 
his  sentimental  airs  and  superior  refinement  ?  I  can  cry 
enough,  if  you  like,  and  if  you  think  crying  will  do  any 
good.  Hubert,  indeed  !  As  if  Hubert  had  an  inkling  of  an 
idea  what  this  ignominy  means  to  me."  He  checked  him- 
self. His  voice  sank.  He  looked  quite  old  and  skinny  and 
careworn,  this  boy  of  nineteen. 

"  I  only  meant  that  it  cannot  be,"  protested  Judith 
faintly.     "  It  is  too  terrible." 

"  Look  here,  mother,"  said  Hendrik  fiercely,  "  it  is  ter- 
rible, and  it  is  absurd  at  the  same  time.  But  for  us  it  is  not 
funny,  only  hideous.  Yet  it  is  ludicrous,  none  the  less, 
with  the  business  one  of  the  finest  in  Holland.  It  means 
giving  over  our  family  secrets  to  be  the  laughing-stock  of 
every  club  or  exchange  in  the  country.  But  it  can't  be 
helped.  At  least,  I  see  no  way  to  avoid  it,  and  I've  been 
thinking  over  the  matter  till  I  believe  my  hair  is  turning 
o-ray.  There's  some  twenty  thousand  florins  still  in  various 
securities,  and  there's  the  fifty  thousand  of  the  firm,  that's 
seventy.  And  there's  a  hundred  thousand  owing  to  the 
brokers  after  this  fresh  fall  in  North  American  Railways, 
which  ought  to  be  paid  in  forty-eight  hours.  The  best 
thing  is  for  me  just  simply  to  go  and  tell  them  that  there 
will  be  an  inventory,  and  that  they  must  get  what  they  can 
out  of  the  property.  The  house,  it  appears,  is  Elias's.  I 
dare  say  they'll  be  civil  to  me  when  I  explain." 

He  choked  over  the  words,  but  set  his  face  hard. 

"You  see,  you  must,"  he  went  on.  "We're  minors. 
You're  guardian.  They'll  come  and  ask  you  to  pay.  And 
you"— another  gulp— "can't.  What'll  you  say,  then, 
mother?" 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  sitting  there  in  her  half- 
finished  widow's  dress.  Then  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  floor. 
And  then  he  lifted  them  again  to  her  face.  She  did  not 
speak.     What  should  she  say  ? 


122  GOD'S  FOOL. 

And  then  suddenly  he  threw  his  arms  round  her  neck 
and  burst  into  tears.  He  was  only  nineteen.  This  was 
very  different  from  being  lord  of  "  Volderdoes  Zonen,"  or 
even  only  a  merchant  jirincelet  and  heir-apparent.  He  was 
utterly  broken  down  and  ashamed. 

"  And  Elias's  millions ! "  he  said  fiercely,  after  a  mo- 
ment, between  his  sobs.     His  voice  grew  hideous  with  hate. 

"  Yes,  he  could  save  us,"  answered  his  mother  eagerly, 
"  and  why  not,  Henk  ?  I  cannot  understand  it.  He  is  of 
age.  He  is  not  under  anyone's  control  now.  Can't  he  do 
as  he  likes  with  his  money  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  so,"  faltered  Hendrik. 

"  Then  why  can  he  not  spend  it  as  we  advise  him  to  ?  " 

Hendrik  hesitated.  A  gleam  of  hojDc,  and  more  than 
hope,  played  about  his  cunning  little  face. 

"  It  all  depends,"  he  said  slowly, "  whether  Elias  is  crazy 
or  not." 

And  then  a  long  silence  fell  upon  them. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

HEXDRIK's   TEMPTATIOlSr. 

"  There  is  one  way  out,  of  course,"  said  Alers.  "  As  you 
probably  know,  even  better  than  I." 

"And  which  is  that  ?  "  asked  Hendrik,  without  looking 
at  his  friend. 

"  Your  step-brother." 

Alers  was  a  young  Koopstader,  a  few  years  older  than 
Losseil.  All  the  Koopstaders  being  connected  by  some 
bond  of  marriage,  whether  in  this  century  or  the  last,  there 
was  a  kind  of  relationship  between  these  two  young  men 
also,  but  neither  of  them  had  as  yet  reached  a  sufficiently 
eminent  position  in  the  world  for  the  other  to  remember 
that  they  were  cousins.  The  world  is  full  of  these  one- 
sided kinships,  which  never  attain  to  mutual  recognition, 
because  they  are  always  either  forgotten  by  both  equals  or 
ignored  by  one  superior,  and  in  Koojistad  especially  there 
was  not  much  honour  to  be  obtained  by  the  casual  men- 
tion of  "  my  cousin  the  Burgomaster,"  because  the  Burgo- 
master was  everybody  else's  cousin  also,  at  least  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  everybody  else. 

Thomas  Alers  had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  uni- 
versity education,  and  had  recently  settled  down  in  his 
native  city  as  an  advocate,  practising  in  the  courts  of  law. 
He  was  a  sharp  young  man.  By  a  sharp  young  man  is 
very  often  meant  a  young  man  whose  moral  side  is  blunt, 
60  blunt  that  the  money-making,  pushing  side  comes  out 
cute  per  contrast.  It  would  be  premature  to  say  that  Alers 
was  that  kind  of  sharp  young  man. 


124:  GOD'S  FOOL. 

As  yet  he  had  little  to  do,  but  great  prospects.  The 
prospects  were  visible  to  his  mind's  far-seeing  eye ;  the 
smalluess  of  his  present  occupations  to  the  most  near- 
sighted busybody  in  Koopstad. 

Busybodies,  however — this  by  the  way — are  never  near- 
sighted, ultliough  they  almost  invariably  squint. 

"  Elias  Croisus  or  the  Crcesus  EHas,"  the  young  lawyer 
continued,  playing  carelessly  with  his  stick.  "  Of  this 
Croesus  it  may  also  be  said  that  you  can  call  no  man  happy 
until  he  is  dead,  that  is  to  say,  tlie  Croesus.  You  under- 
stand ?  No  ?  Well,  it's  hardly  worth  thinking  out.  All 
the  same,  it's  a  great  nuisance  for  you,  Lossell,  that  Hubert 
didn't  give  that  pot  a  harder  push.' 

"  Once  for  all,  none  of  that,"  burst  out  Ilendrik  with  an 
indignation  which  seemed  almost  disjoroportionate.  "  It's 
useless.  And  it's  disgusting.  I  won't  hear  it.  I've  got 
enough  to  do  with  my  own  thoughts,  worse  luck." 

"  Tut,  tut,"  said  the  other  coolly.  "  It's  no  affair  of 
mine.  And  even  you  can't  be  more  willing  than  I  to  do 
homage  to  the  new  head  of  the  house,  Elias  the  Second — or 
is  it  Third  ?  I  was  thinking  of  going  out  to  him  this  after- 
noon and  asking  him  to  let  me  have  some  of  your  law-busi- 
ness.    I'd  do  it  cheaper  than  your  father's  man." 

"Nonsense,"  cried  Hendrik,  more  indignantly  still. 
"  You  know  perfectly  well  that  Elias  isn't  head  of  the  firm, 
and  never  could  be.  It's  bad  enough,  as  it  is,  that  he 
should  be  sleeping  partner  at  all.  You  needn't  make  it 
worse  ! " 

"Sleeping  owner,  you  mean,"  retorted  Thomas  lazily. 
"  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,  who's  the  firm,  if  he  is  not." 

"  The  firm  !  "  stuttered  Hendrik.  "  There  is  none.  I 
mean  I  shall — I  ought  to— what  are  you  insinuating,  Alers  ? 
What  do  you  want?  Do  you  advise  me  to  kill  Elias  as  the 
shortest  means  of  inheriting  his  wealth  ?  " 

The  lawyer  started  to  his  feet.     His  whole    manner 


HENDllIK'S  TEMPTATION.  125 

changed  in  a  moment.  "Don't  father  your  thoughts  on 
me,"  he  said  very  angrily.  "I  never  said,  or  hinted,  or 
dreamed  of,  anything  so  atrocious.  And  if  you  choose  to 
sit  hatching  monstrosities,  remember  the  original  bad  egg 
was  your  own,  if  you  please.  How  dare  you  suggest  to  me, 
Hendrik,  that  I  am  to  blame  for  the  abominations  of  your 
thoughts?" 

"  I  fancied  it  was  all  in  your  day's  work  to  suspect 
everyone  of  thinking  abominations,"  answered  Hendrik, 
somewhat  alarmed.  "  You've  often  said  so.  And,  besides, 
you  declared  just  now  that  my  brother  supplied  me  with  the 
only  means  out  of  the  difficulty.  What  else  did  you  allude 
to?" 

"  You  are  too  agitated  to  discuss  any  subject  sensibly," 
said  Thomas  Alers.  "  If  you  will  sit  down,  and  listen  calm- 
ly, well  and  good.  If  not,  I  would  rather  take  leave  of  you 
for  the  present.  There's  a  client  coming  to  see  me  to-mor- 
row morning,"  he  added  proudly,  "  and  I  have  a  number  of 
papers  to  look  over  for  him  still." 

Hendrik  threw  himself  violently  into  a  corner  of  the 
sofa,  and  sat  there  the  picture  of  sullen  impatience. 

"  The  last  thing  any  reasonable  being  would  suggest," 
the  young  advocate  went  on,  "  would  be  that  you  or  anyone 
else  should  in  any  Avay  injure  your  unfortunate  step-brother. 
On  the  contrary,  your  only  way  out  of  the  difficulties  in 
which  you  find  yourself  is  to  treat  him  with  all  due  affection 
and  regard.  He  is  a  very  important  personage  now.  The 
most  important  in  all  Koopstad,  I  should  almost  venture  to 
say.  Except,  perhaps,  my  cousin,  the  Burgomaster."  Alers 
was  poor.  His  mother  had  married  beneath  her.  He  liked 
to  allude  to  his  mother's  relations. 

"  He  is  an  idiot,"  said  Hendrik,  "  and  ought  to  be  under 
proper  guardianship." 

"  He  is  blind,  poor  fellow,"  replied  Alers.  "  And  he  is 
deaf.  His  memory,  I  have  often  heard  from  you,  is  weak, 
and  he  thinks  slowly.     Does  that  constitute  idiocy  ?  " 


126  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  You  know  nothing  about  him,"  said  Hendrik  irritably. 
"  You  have  never  even  seen  him,  I  believe." 

"  I  know  this,"  retorted  Alers  imperturbably,  "  that 
your  father  was  never  so  incensed  as  when  anyone  dared  to 
suggest  that  his  eldest  son  was  not  in  full  possession  of  his 
senses,  such  as  they  were." 

"  He  is  an  idiot,  all  the  same,"  repeated  Hendrik. 

"  If  that  is  true,  I  am  very  sorry  for  you,  for  then  there 
seems  to  me  to  be  no  way  out  of  your  difficulty  at  all." 

Hendrik  sat  up  and  stared  at  him.  "  What  do  you 
mean  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Surely  it  is  very  simple,  Lossell.  You  are  not  nearly 
as  clear-headed  a  man  of  business  as  I  thought  you.  By 
the  terms  of  the  old  gentleman's  testament  the  situation  is 
to  remain  unaltered  until  Elias  can  alter  it  of  his  own  free 
will.  Now,  if  his  mind  is  deranged,  he  has  got  no  free  will 
of  his  own,  and  he  must  accordingly  be  placed  under  a 
'  curator.' " 

"I  have  thought  of  that,"  said  Hendrik.  "The  will 
expressly  says  '  guardians  or  curators.'  I  should  in  any 
case  be  the  one  trustee,  and  Hubert  would  probably  be  the 
other." 

"  Probably,  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain.  In  fact,  from 
a  few  words  that  Borlett,  your  father's  notary,  dropped 
yesterday,  I  fancy  he  would  stir  up  the  two  other  members  of 
the  family  council  to  propose  a  different  trustee  to  the  juge 
de  paix.  Don't  forget  that  you  two  step-brothers  are  his 
heirs,  and  that  Elias  has  distant  cousins  enough  on  the 
Volderdoes  side.  The  judges  don't,  as  a  rule,  look  after 
the  interests  of  such  unfortunates  over-zealously,  but  this 
property  is  large  enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  all 
Koopstad,  and,  even  if  you  should  be  the  sole  trustees, 
you  will  find  public  opinion  watches  your  doings  pretty 
sharply." 

"  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  wrong,"  interposed  Hen- 
drik. 


HENDRIK'S  TEMPTATION.  127 

"  Of  course  not,  but  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  do  any- 
thing at  all,  once  you  get  a  '  curatela '  instituted.  We 
needn't  go  into  law  talk  just  now.  But  you  will  soon  per- 
ceive, I  can  tell  you,  that  your  crazy  brother's  money  would 
be  immovably  fixed  in  the  business  and  on  the  '  Great  Book 
of  the  National  Debt,'  and  there  it  could  go  on  uselessly 
accumulating  as  it  has  done  hitherto." 

"  Then  it  must  accumulate.     I  can't  help  it." 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  law  recognizes  no  gradations 
between  absolute  incapacity  and  entire  responsibility.  It 
can't  do  so.  A  man  is  either  incapable  of  spending  one 
farthing  on  lollipops,  or  fit  to  look  after  a  business  involving 
a  couple  of  millions.  There  is  no  alternative.  And  if  a 
man  isn't  mad,  he  is  sane." 

"  You  want  me  to  say  that  Elias  isn't  an  idiot,"  spake 
Hendrik.  "  Very  well ;  he  isn't.  He  is  a  man  of  remark- 
able intelligence.  He  is  a  Sophocles — what  d'ye  call  'im  ? — 
Socrates,  I  mean." 

"  No,  he  is  not,  you  fool,"  hissed  his  friend  in  swift, 
sharp  accents,  angry  for  the  first  time,  "and  he  needn't 
be,  as  I  tell  you.  He  needn't  even  be  as  clever  a  creat- 
ure as  you  are.  It's  quite  sufficient  for  him  to  be  hovering 
on  the  border,  as  long  as  he's  hovering  on  the  proper 
side." 

"  And  why  ?  "  asked  Hendrik.  He  was  not  offended.  I 
think  it  was  one  of  the  worst  traits  in  a  character  not  other- 
wise evil  that  insult  did  not  annoy  him.  "  For  him,  I  grant 
it  you.  But  not  for  us.  If  the  business  be  hquidated,  as  I 
suppose  it  must  be,  and  all  this  money  be  put  into  Elias's 
foolish  hands,  he  will  make  ducks  and  drakes  of  it  in  a 
month." 

The  lawyer  turned  full  upon  his  friend.  "  Is  it  that  you 
really  can't  understand  me,  or  is  it  that  you  won't?"  he 
asked. 

The  other  shifted  uneasily  on  his  seat. 

"  Hum,"  said  Alers,  and  again,  for  a  few  moments,  he 


128  GOD'S  FOOL, 

became  engrossed  iu  the  points  of  his  boots  and  the  tip  of  his 
cane. 

"  You  might,  at  any  rate,  speak  plainly  when  you  do 
speak,"  remarked  Ilcndrik  presently. 

"  I  don't  speak.  I  have  no  wish  to  speak  unless  I'm 
asked,''  was  the  quick  reply. 

"  Well,  I  ask  you,"  said  Lossell  humbly. 

"  Then  this  is  all  I  have  to  say.  I  make  no  doubt  you 
are  saying  it  to  yourself.  Avoid  by  all  means  in  your  power 
the  appointment  of  guardians  for  Elias,  even  if  those  guard- 
ians be  your  brother  and  yourself.  Prove  to  the  outer 
world  that,  although  afflicted  in  the  loss  of  his  physical 
senses,  he  has  retained  the  clear  use  of  his  brain  and  is  quite 
able  to  look  after  his  own  interests." 

"And  then?"  asked  Hendrik,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the 
ceiling. 

"You  press  me  unduly.  The  interests  of  brothers 
surely  should  have  much  in  common." 

"  And  when  they  clash  ?  " 

"  It  seems  to  me  the  stronger  brain  should  conquer." 

Another  pause.  A  longer  one  this  time.  Then  said 
Hendrik  :  "Alers,  what  makes  you  say  these  things  ?  What 
makes  you  care  to  say  them  ?  " 

"  I  ?  "  replied  the  other  lightly,  as  he  rose  to  go.  "  Phi- 
lanthropy !  My  affection  for  you,  and  my  love  of  well- 
doing !    What  else  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing  else,"  said  Hendrik. 

But  the  law3^er  did  not  quite  want  to  leave  him  under 
that  impression — if  he  really  had  it. 

"  And,  of  course,  it  is  an  advantage  to  me  to  have  you  as 
a  friend.  You  will  be  a  rich  man  some  day,  Lossell,  a  rich 
man  soon,  I  fancy,  for  you  are  going  to  be  head  of  the  great 
firm.  Aftei  all,  Elias  hasn't  been  brought  up  to  business- 
habits,  and  in  his  own  advantage,  as  well  as  in  yours,  he 
will  have  to  make  over  to  you  what  is  yours  by  right.     And 


HENDLilK'S  TEMPTATION.  129 

when  you  are  a  ricli  man,  you  will  want  a  professional  ad- 
viser. I  think  you  want  one  already.  It's  a  pleasant  thing 
to  be  a  rich  man.  The  next  best  thing  is  to  be  a  rich  man's 
friend.     Ta,  ta." 

"  I  haven't  got  any  money  to  buy  it  up,"  burst  out 
Lossell. 

The  other  paused  in  the  doorway. 

"What  price  does  Elias  ask?"  he  said.  "You  don't 
know  yet  ?  Ah,  I  thought  so.  Well,  a  good  deal  will  de- 
pend upon  that.  Tell  me,  when  you  know.  Or  don't ;  just 
as  you  prefer.  It's  no  business  of  anybody's,  as  far  as  I  can 
see.     Quite  a  family  arrangement.     Good-night." 

Left  alone,  Hendrik  remained  for  a  long  time  without 
moving,  huddled  up  in  his  corner  of  the  sofa,  his  eyes  fixed 
intently  on  some  spot  they  did  not  see.  He  had  understood 
his  friend  perfectly. 

Vague  conceptions  which  had  been  floating  in  his  own 
brain  had  received  definite  form  and  substance.  And  mis- 
taken impressions  had  been  corrected.  He  had  had  a  con- 
fused idea  that  Elias  might  be  made  harmless  by  being  de- 
clared insane,  and  that  then  the  man  who  administered  his 
fortune  for  him,  would  be  allowed  to  use  it,  as  far  as  was 
necessary,  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  family.  It  had  not 
occurred  to  him,  at  least  not  in  that  concise  form,  that  it 
would  be  far  simpler  and  more  efficacious  to  let  his  step- 
brother give  his  money,  instead  of  taking  it  away  from  him. 
But  at  the  first  hint  in  that  direction,  he  had  seen  the  whole 
path  clear  before  him  at  once.  Nothing  would  be  easier,  if 
Elias  were  left  master  of  himself,  than  to  prove  to  him  that 
expediency  or  honesty  or  any  other  motive  which  came 
handy  required  him  to  cede  the  business  to  his  brothers. 
He  would  make  a  present  of  it  to  them  ;  nay,  still  better,  he 
would  sell  it  to  them  for  an  old  glove.  A  new  deed  must  be 
drawn  up,  by  which  Elias,  of  his  own  free  will,  liberated  the 
acting  partners  from  the  yoke  which  old  Volderdocs  had 
9 


130  GOD'S  FOOL. 

fastened  on  their  necks.  The  shares  must  be  redistributed, 
Elias  selling  the  larger  part  of  them  to  his  step-brothers  at 
a  nominal  price,  and  the  profits,  also,  must  be  restored  to 
the  people  who  worked  for  them. 

What  could  be  fairer,  if  you  came  to  think  of  it  ?  Elias 
would  be  quite  rich  enough,  even  if  he  lost  this  great  in- 
come from  the  business  to  which  he  had  practically  no 
right.  Vested  interests  ?  Capital  ?  Ah,  vested  interests 
always  look  unjust  when  it's  another  man  that  they're 
vested  in.  And  it  appeared  to  Hendrik,  that  Elias  had 
already  drawn  far  more  than  he  deserved  from  these  vested 
interests  of  his.  "  Whose  the  labour  is,  his  should  the 
profits  be,"  he  said  to  himself.  He  did  not  say  it  to  his 
employes.  AVhat  would  Hubert  think  ?  There  might  be 
a  slight  difficulty  there,  but  hardly  a  very  serious  one. 
Nothing  could  be  done  till  Hendrik  had  obtained  the  dis- 
pensation he  hoped  for,  and  then  it  was  he  who  would  have 
to  do  everything.  Hubert  would  be  altogether  a  secondary 
person.  And  it  would  be  easy  to  find  a  notary  who  was 
more  obliging  than  Borlett. 

Ouf !  It  seemed  very  simple.  And  really  very  fair. 
Were  those  not  the  words  which  constantly  returned  to  his 
thoughts?  Why  did  they  return  so  constantly,  and  why 
did  he  not  simply  accept  them,  and  repose  in  them,  so  to 
say  ?  Why  need  he  repeat  thus  over  and  over  again  :  And 
really  very  fair  ?  Of  course  it  was  fair.  Quite  fair.  Was 
it  not  fair  ? 

Must  a  dead  man,  then,  dead  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  rule  the  world  by  the  eternal  law  of  his  injustice? 
And  had  not  this  man  himself  indicated  the  way  of  escape  ? 
Elias  should  decide  when  he  came  of  age.  Elias  was  of 
age.    Let  him  decide. 

He  put  on  his  hat,  and  went  out. 

Where  to,  he  did  not  know.  He  thought  the  air  would 
do  him  good.     It  had  been  his  nightly  pleasure,  when  the 


HENDRIK'S  TEMPTATION.  131 

day's  work  was  over,  to  loiter  down  the  gaslit  streets  of 
Koopstad,  with  some  equally  exquisite  friend,  the  delight  of 
all  beholders,  on  his  way  to  the  theatre  or  the  music-hall. 
To-night  he  shrank  from  the  far  din  of  the  populous 
streets.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  everybody  in  Koopstad 
knew  of  his  dilemma,  and  could  read  his  thoughts.  He 
crept  away,  and  slunk  down  back  streets,  towards  the  quays, 
and,  almost  before  he  heeded  whither  he  was  going,  he 
found  that  his  accustomed  steps  had  brought  him  to  the 
warehouse-door. 

He  rang  the  door-keeper's  bell,  again  scarcely  knowing 
why.  As  he  Avas  there,  he  might  as  well  go  in  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  see  that  all  was  right. 

He  passed  by  the  old  concierge,  with  a  hurried  recog- 
nition, and  Avalked  swiftly  down  the  corridor  towards  his 
father's  private  room.  He  had  never  yet  been  in  it  by  even- 
ing. The  father  would  sometimes  return  to  his  office  after 
dinner.     He  had  not  required  this  of  his  son. 

Was  it  this  feeling  of  singularity,  or  some  strange  awe 
of  night  that  made  him  hesitate  on  the  threshold  ?  What 
is  it  that  causes  the  dead  to  be  nearest  to  us  at  night-time, 
calling  them  up  out  of  the  darkness  into  which  they  S9,nk 
from  our  sight  ?  Do  they  really  revisit  their  earthly  haunts 
in  those  still  hours  only,  when  they  need  not  fear  the  sun- 
light which  to  them  is  an  eternal  terror  and  regret  ?  When 
we  come  suddenly  into  the  dark  room,  which  was  theirs  be- 
fore they  left  us,  we  feel  their  breath  fall  cold  upon  our 
faces,  and,  as  we  turn  rapidly  to  look  behind  us  from  the 
newly-lighted  candle,  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  shadow  of 
their  shadow  flitting  away  into  the  widening  light. 

Young  Hendrik  Lossell  had  never  felt  his  dead  father  so 
near  to  him  as  now  when  he  stood  a  moment  irresolute  in 
the  dark  passage  outside  that  closed  door. 

He  felt  for  his  matches,  and  struck  a  light.  And  then 
he  threw  open  the  door  and  stumbled  forward  into  the 
room. 


132  GOD'S  FOOL. 

It  was  already  lighted — dimly — by  a  movable  gas-lamp 
which  stood  on  the  mautelpiece. 

lleudrik  threw  away  his  match  with  an  exclamation  of 
surprise,  llis  brother  Hubert  was  sitting  motioidess  in  a 
corner  of  tlie  room. 

"  You  here  !  "  he  cried.  "  What  in  the  name  of  good- 
ness  " 

"  Hush,"  said  Hubert — almost  solemnly. 

Ilendrik  laughed — a  nervous  laugh.  He  went  round  to 
his  brother.  "  I  can't  imagine  what  you  are  after,  Huib," 
he  said. 

Hubert  looked  up  at  him,  and  Ilendrik  saw  that  his  face 
was  white.     "  What  are  you  after?"  said  Hubert. 

"  I  ? "  stammered  Hendrik,  at  a  loss.  "  I  came  to 
see "     Again  Hubert  stopj)ed  him. 

"  You  came  because  you  were  called,"  he  said.  "  I  knew 
you  were  coming.  I  knew  it  just  when  you  opened  the 
door.     Father  had  told  me." 

"  Father !  "  cried  Hendrik,  almost  with  a  scream.  "  Hu- 
bert, you   are "     The   other  started  uji  and  flung  his 

hand  on  his  brother's  mouth.  "  Still,"  he  cried.  "  He  will 
hear  you.     For  God's  sake,  be  still." 

"  Don't  be  vexed  with  me,"  Hubert  went  on  hurriedly. 
"  I  came  here,  I  don't  quite  know  why.  I  couldn't  stop  in- 
doors, so  I  ran  out,  and  my  footsteps  brought  me  here.  I 
thought  I  should  like  to  be  quite  alone  in  this  place  once  in 
a  way  and  think  of  my  father's  working  and — and  dying 
here.  And  I  got  Peter  to  let  me  in.  Of  course  the  place 
reminds  one  of  father  more  than  any  other.  And — and, 
Henk," — his  voice  dropped  to  a  whisper ;  he  pointed  with 
one  hand — "  that's,  that's  his  chair." 

"  I  know  that,  surely,"  said  Hendrik  impatiently,  but 
trembling  from  head  to  foot  as  he  cast  a  frightened  glance 
towards  the  round  leather-cushioned  armchair  before  the 
immense  "  bureau  ministre  "  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  On 
the  table  the  blotter  lay,  neatly  closed ;  a  number  of  petty, 


HENDRIK'S  TEMPTATION.  133 

well-known  objects,  penholders,  a  large  seal,  a  pair  of  scis- 
sors, were  arranged  in  tidy  rows,  waiting  for  tlie  hand  that 
had  used  them  so  often.  Its  shadow  still  seemed  to  hover 
over  tliem.  The  gas-lamp  now  burning  on  the  mantelpiece 
had  been  invariably  used  by  the  merchant  on  his  desk  when 
he  required  light. 

"  I've  seen  him  sitting  in  it  day  after  day,"  said  Hen- 
drik.  Something  in  his  brother's  nervous  voice  and  awe- 
struck manner  irritated  and  agitated  him  both  in  one. 

"  Ah,  but  I  saw  him  sitting  there  to-night,"  whispered 
Hubert.  "  Don't  stare  at  me  like  that,  Hendrik.  He  was 
sitting  very  quietly,  gazing  at  the  table  in  front  of  him, 
sitting  just  as  he  used  to  sit.  And  after  a  few  moments,  he 
turned  round  and  looked  at  me,  and  his  face  was  dread- 
fully, unf athomably  sad.  And  then  I  knew  that  you  would 
come." 

"  Come  away,"  cried  Hendrik,  pulling  at  his  brother's 
arm,  and  trying  to  make  his  voice  as  loud  as  he  could  with- 
out raising  it.  "  Come  away  immediately.  It's  horrible, 
Hubert,  and  I  won't  stay  to  hear  any  more  of  it." 

"  There  is  no  more,"  said  Hubert.  "  Why  is  it  horrible  ? 
No,  Hendrik,  you  must  stay.  For  that  is  why  you  are 
come.  Hendrik,  we  must  save  the  old  house.  Do  you  hear 
me?  And  we  must  save  our  father's  memory.  There 
must  not  be  a  whisper  against  it  in  Koopstad,  not  a  whis- 
per. We  must  all  take  our  share  of  the  burden,  and  there- 
fore Elias  must  take  his.  Elias  must  pay  the  debts,  and  he 
must  support  mother  so  that  no  one  may  know  she  has 
less  money  than  formerly.  He  owes  that  to  his  father's 
memory,  and  we  must  tell  him  to  do  it.     Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Hendrik,  gasping  for  breath.  "  What 
more  ?  " 

"  And  ive  owe  it  to  our  father's  memory  to  reverence 
our  step-brother's  misfortune,  and  to  protect  him  from  all 
injury  and  all  insult.  Not  I  only  who — not  I  only,  you 
also.     He,  on  his  side,  will  do  his  duty,  as  we  bid  him,  and 


134  GOD'S  FOOL. 

we  will  do  oiTrs.  It  will  be  a  bond,  dear  Ilendrik,  between 
lis  and  him.  And  the  thought  that  he  has  been  enabled 
thus  to  help  us  will  make  his  welfare  sacred  in  our  sight ; 
will  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Ilendrik  in  a  toneless  voice. 
"iTe  hears  us,"  continued  Hubert,  speaking  slightly 
louder.  He  drew  his  brother  towards  him,  and  advanced  a 
little  nearer  to  the  empty  chair.  "  He  hears  us,  I  am  sure  of 
it,  he,  who  always,  through  the  long  years  of  his  untiring 
labor,  held  the  cruel  rights  of  his  hapless  son  as  a  thing  too 
holy  to  be  touched.  We  will  do  like  him.  And  we  will  ask 
nothing  of  Elias  but  what  we  know  it  is  his  duty  to  accord. 
We  declare  it,  father,  even  as  in  thy  presence.  And  if  thou 
understand  us,  let  that  sadness  die  away  forever  from  thy 
sight." 

"  Let  us  swear  it,  Henk,"  he  added  softly,  after  a  mo- 
ment's solemn  pause.  "  Swear  to  save  his  memory  by 
Elias's  help,  to  maintain  the  house  in  its  greatness  by  all 
powers  at  our  command,  and  to  further  the  Avelf are  of  Elias 
as  if  it  were  our  own.     Swear." 

Hendrik  clasped  his  brother's  hand,  and  bent  his  head 
without  speaking. 

"  We  swear,"  said  Hubert  for  them  both.  "  So  be  it," 
he  added.  "  So  help  us  God  Almighty.  We  have  sworn. 
And  now  let  us  go  and  speak  to  Elias." 

"  It  is  too  late  to-night,"  began  Hendrik  feebly. 
"  No,  no,  it  is  not  yet  near  nine.     Let  us  get  it  over  to- 
night, and  then  we  can  rest  in  peace.     Better  have  it  done 
to-night.     There  is  yet  time." 

And  without  casting  another  look  backwards  into  the 
dim,  dreary  office-room  under  its  strange  air  of  disturbed 
daylight,  without  a  thought  for  the  lamp  left  burning  on 
the  mantelpiece,  Hubert  fled  down  the  passage  followed  by 
Hendrik. 

The  old  Chinaman,  left  alone  with  the  shaded  light  and 
the  memory  of  the  dead,  winked  hideously  from  the  elevated 


HENDRIK'S  TEMPTATION.  135 

sliriue  whence  he  had  presided  for  so  many  years  over  the 
fortunes  of  the  great  house  of  Volderdoes.  Probably  he 
was  well  content.  For  even  he  could  not,  with  that 
power  which  is  the  common  privilege  only  of  dead  saints 
and  living  devils,  look  far  into  the  awful  future,  and  foretell 
the  bloody  sequel  of  that  night's  solemn  vow. 

Old  Peter  was  not  sentimental.  He  came  in  a  few  min- 
utes later  and  turned  off  the  gas,  with  many  grumblings  at 
the  recklessness  of  the  young  and  laudations  of  his  own  vigil- 
ance. And  before  he  turned  the  screw,  his  eyes  fell  on 
Hendrik's  half-smoked  cigar,  which  had  been  flung  into  the 
grate.  And  he  extracted  it  carefully,  and  dusted  it,  and 
took  it  away  with  him  into  his  lodge.  And  there  he 
smoked  it. 

The  two  brothers  found  Johanna  in  the  act  of  helping 
Elias  to  bed.  In  fact,  she  had  just  completed  his  toilet ; 
and  he  was  saying  his  prayers.  They  came  in  upon  this, 
the  maid  having  admitted  them,  and  stood  waiting  till  he 
had  done.  The  words  fell  solemnly  on  the  stillness,  issuing 
from  that  cavern  of  darkness.  They  were  few  words  and 
simple,  such  as  any  child  may  speak,  strangely  in  contrast 
with  the  massive  frame  and  powerful  head  of  this  man  in 
the  full  bloom  of  a  manly  adolescence.  He  thanked  God, 
as  usual,  for  having  given  him  Volderdoes  Zonen  t(t  provide 
him  with  all  that  he  needed.  Hubert  looked  at  Hendrik. 
Hendrik  winced  and  closed  his  eyes. 

And  then  he  prayed  for  his  father,  forgetting  that  he 
was  dead. 

When  he  had  done,  Hubert  went  up  and  tried  to  speak 
to  him,  but  his  hand  trembled,  and  Elias  shrank  back,  as  if 
in  pain,  from  the  agitated  movement  of  his  fingers.  "  You 
interpret  for  us,  Johanna,"  said  Hubert.  "  Tell  him  we 
are  here.  Remind  him  that  papa  is  dead.  Tell  him  that 
he  is  now  very  rich.  That  he  has  got  a  great  deal  of  money. 
Does  he  understand  ?  " 


136  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Yes,  I  imderstand,"  said  Elias,  with  his  bell-like  voice. 
"  Then,  if  I  liave  got  a  lot  of  money,  may  the  old  man  have 
his  beef-tea  ?  " 

"  He  means  an  old  man  who  comes  here  every  morning," 
said  Johanna.     "  There  was  none  to-day." 

"  Say  yes,  yes,"  burst  in  Ilendrik,  as  a ,  man  speaks  when 
he  breaks  suddenly  through  restraint. 

"  Say  yes,"  repeated  Hubert,  "  but  tell  him  we  shall 
want  some  of  his  money,  not  much  considering,  for 
the  maintenance  of  Volderdoes  Zonen.  Does  he  under- 
stand ?  " 

"  I  understand,"  said  Elias  again.  "  If  there  were  no 
Volderdoes  Zonen,  I  should  be  very  unhappy  indeed." 

"  Then  he  wants  it  to  continue  to  exist  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  interrupted  Hendrik. 

"  Ask  him,  Johauna,  if  he  wishes  to  do  all  he  can  that  it 
should  continue  to  do  so  ?  " 

"  But  I  can't  do  anything,"  said  Elias,  as  soon  as  this 
was  made  plain  to  him.  "  I  can't  do  anything."  He  sat  up 
in  bed.     "  What  can  I  do  ?  "  he  repeated  excitedly. 

Johanna  soothed  him.  It  was  told  him  that  he  must 
give  money  to  pay  his  father's  debts,  and  a  yearly  sum  to 
support  his  step-mother. 

It  might  be  questioned  how  much  he  understood  of  all 
this,  but  there  could  not  be  the  slightest  doubt  of  his  eager- 
ness to  give  to  whoever  wanted  or  ever  asked  his  support. 
Had  they  asked  him  to  divide  a  million  florins  between  his 
brothers,  he  would  unhesitatingly  have  trusted  them  and 
done  as  they  required. 

"  No,  no,  no,"  said  Hubert.  "  That  is  quite  enough. 
Tell  him  that  we  will  bring  him  the  necessary  papers  to 
sign  (he  must  make  a  cross)  when  they  can  be  ready.  I  am 
sure  Borlett  will  help  us,  Hendrik,  in  all  this.  And  now 
tell  him  also,  Johanna,  that  we  thank  him.  Tell  him  that 
we  have  sworn  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  help  and  to  protect 
him.     Never  mind  if  he  understands  it  all.     Tell  him  that 


HENDRIK'S  TEMPTATION.  137 

■we  love  liim ;  he  will  understand  that.  And  that  we  will 
be  good  brothers  to  him,  by  the  help  of  God." 

"  I  understand,"  said  Elias  after  a  pause.  "  Kiss  me, 
Hubert.  Kiss  me,  Hendrik.  I  am  very  sleepy.  I  think  I 
should  like  to  go  to  sleep." 

"  Thank  you,  gentlemen,"  said  Johanna  with  the  tears  in 
her  honest  eyes. 

"  Nothing  more  ridiculous,"  Alers  was  repeating  at  the 
Club,  "  than  the  thesis  that  a  man  must  be  insane  because 
he  is  blind,  or  deaf,  or  even  both.  It  is  outrageous.  The 
law  knows  no  guardianship  of  those  who  have  lost  the  use 
of  their  organs  of  sense.  The  brain — ah,  that  is  a  different 
thing.  Homer  was  blind.  Galileo  was  blind — wasn't  he  ? 
And  so  was  Milton.  And  I'm  sure  that  a  great  number  of 
eminent  men  were  deaf  and  dumb,  only  one  doesn't  remem- 
ber their  names.  Now  there's  Elias  Lossell,  you  were 
speaking  of — or  was  I  speaking  of  him  ?  Well,  it  doesn't 
matter — I  know  the  Lossells  well.  I  can  assure  you  Elias 
is  no  more  idiotic  than  you  or  I.  I  don't  say  he  is  as  intel- 
ligent— but  there's  a  great  difference.  Now  I  don't  pre- 
tend to  be  nearly  as  intelligent  as  you  are,  but  I  must 
object  to  being  called  more  idiotic.  I  repeat,  such  a  nature 
has  naturally  great  disadvantages,  but  the  law  fortunately 
does  not  add  to  their  number.  And  it  would  be  outrageous 
not  to  allow  a  man  to  do  what  he  liked  with  his  own,  simply 
because  such  a  man  was  blind,  and  deaf  and  dumb.  And 
Lossell's  not  even  dumb." 

"  I  certainly  agree  with  you,"  said  a  quiet  gentleman  by 
the  fireplace.  "  But  is  Lossell  really  only  deaf  and  blind  ? 
I  had  always  understood  he  was  half-witted." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  his  father  say  anything  of  the  kind  ?  " 
asked  Alers,  turning  on  the  speaker. 

"  No ;  I  hardly  think  so.  But  his  brother  certainly. 
Young  Hendrik  Lossell  never  speaks  otherwise  of  him  than 
as  of  a  hopeless  idiot." 


138  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"Young  Hendrik  is  a  capital  fellow,"  rejoined  Alers 
sentcntiously.  "  He  is  a  great  friend  of  mine.  But  he  ig 
young.  And  we  young  fellows  are  quick  with  our  generali- 
sations. Unless  we  are  lawyers  and  weigh  our  words.  A 
man  is  always  an  '  utter  idiot '  or  '  awfully  clever.'  A 
woman  is  always  either  '  the  most  beautiful  creature  in  the 
world'  or  'altogether  unfit  to  look  at.'  And  besides, 
young  Losscll  is  naturally  a  little  jealous  of  his  unfortunate 
step-brother,  despite  the  lattcr's  misfortune." 

"  I  wonder  how  much  money  there  is,"  said  another 
man,  a  large,  loose  fellow,  who  had  come  lounging  up  with 
his  hands  in  his  pockets.  "  A  lot  of  money  anyway,  I 
fancy." 

"  There  is  more  money,  I  can  tell  you,"  replied  the 
young  lawyer  with  a  great  air  of  mysterious  importance, 
"  than  often  passes  in  this  country  from  a  father  to  his 
children.  They  are  all  rich,  naturally,  with  such  a  busi- 
ness, but  by  far  the  richest  of  them,  nevertheless,  is  the 
eldest,  the  deaf  man  Elias.  I  fancy  Elias  Lossell  must  be 
the  richest  man  in  Koopstad." 

There  was  not  one  man  in  that  whole  smoking-room 
who  did  not  consider  money  the  supreme  thing  worth  living 
and  working  and  lying  for.  And  yet  there  was  not  one 
who  dared  pronounce  the  words  which  rose  to  all  lips  me- 
chanically, and  say  :  "  Lucky  fellow  !  "  of  the  richest  man  in 
Koopstad. 

For  God's  finger  held  them  back. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

COMPOS    MENTIS. 

The  fool  sat  in  his  room,  by  the  fireside,  with  his  hands 
in  his  lap.  His  eyes  were  closed.  Night  lay  over  them. 
And  over  his  soul  lay  the  twilight  of  a  great  sorrow  and  of  a 
glorious  dawn. 

How  much  did  he  know  of  himself  ?  Of  that  past 
which  is  ourselves  in  all  of  us  to  such  a  degree  that  the  more 
thoughtful  sometimes  question  with  terror-struck  wonder 
whether  it  will  remain  ourselves  into  the  endless  future  ? 
It  is  hard  to  say  how  much  he  knew.  It  seemed  to  him 
sometimes  as  some  one  else's  life,  and  sometimes  as  to-day. 
And  therein,  surely,  he  was  not  a  fool. 

It  was  nearly  ten  years  ago  now  that  they  had  first  told 
him  that  his  father  was  dead.  There  was  a  past  before  that 
time,  and  a  past  after  it.  They  had  been  very  different, 
and  he  knew  they  had  been  different,  for  he  had  daily  ex- 
perienced their  difference.  And  yet  he  could  never  prop- 
erly have  realized  the  cause  of  the  change,  for  even  now, 
though  he  had  not  held  intercourse  with  his  father  through 
so  many  years,  he  remembered  him  only  as  in  the  life  of 
to-day. 

There  was  nothing  complicated  in  the  confusion  of  the 
fool's  ideas,  if  once  you  got  hold  of  the  keynote,  as  his 
faithful  nurse  had  done  long  ago.  It  was  she,  in  fact,  who 
had  tuned  his  whole  being  into  harmony  with  that  key- 
note, developing  it  in  constant  sympathy  with  the  central 
theme.     To  this  work  she  had  devoted  her  life. 


140  GOD'S  POOL. 

Those  who  loved  Elias  understood  him.  And  he  un- 
derstood only  those  whom  he  loved.  The  intellectual  life 
of  his  soul,  cramped  and  weakened  in  all  its  resources,  lay 
languishing  and  spluttering  in  fitful  flashes,  as  uncertain  in 
its  unexpected  light  and  darkness  as  a  wick  that  is  dying 
for  want  of  wax.  But  the  emotional  life,  the  life  of  loving 
and  admiring  and  believing,  independent,  as  it  is,  of  all 
artificial  development,  burned  on — and  upward — with  a 
steadily  increasing  flame.  And  thus  his  memory  also  was  a 
memory  of  love — and,  alas,  of  pain.  He  remembered  little 
that  had  attained  to  his  mind's  perception  only ;  you  could 
not  be  certain  of  his  remembering  anything  at  all,  unless  it 
had  reached  his  heart.  But  of  one  thing  you  could  be  cer- 
tain, that  he  would  not  forget  what  had  touched  his  affec- 
tions. And  yet  here  also,  he  was  incapable  of  making  dis- 
tinctions which  are  transparent  to  wiser  men.  He  could 
not  remember  love  as  a  thing  of  the  past.  Where  once  he 
loved,  he  loved  forever,  and,  therefore,  as  I  have  already 
said,  his  love  of  the  dead  or  departed  was  a  memory  of 
an  eternal  to-day. 

"  For  in  the  Presence  of  my  Love 
Shall  be  no  Future  and  no  Past." 

He  was  a  fool.  He  thought  that  dead  people  were  still 
alive.  And  he  forgot  that  you  must  have  money  if  you 
want  to  buy  bread.  And  the  life  of  love,  without  beginning 
and  without  ending,  was  the  one  reality  of  his  soul. 

And  you,  if  you  loved  him,  perhaps  you  also  would 
understand  him  better.  And  yet,  as  you  do  not  love 
him 

Nay,  throw  down  this  book.  There  is  the  evening 
paper  just  come  in,  with  to-day's  stock-exchange.  They're 
up,  I  believe. 

Elias  Lossell  knew  more  about  money  than  many  people 
might    have  thought.     He  knew  that,  since  his  father's 


COMPOS  MENTIS.  141 

death,  they  were  always  telling  him  that  he  was  very  rich. 
And  he  knew  that  it  Avas  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  rich. 
Come,  come — he  was  a  pliilosopher,  and  no  fool. 

He  lived  in  the  same  little  house  just  outside  the  city,  in 
which  his  father  had  established  him  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  Hubert  had  wanted  him  to  move  into  a  large 
and  beautiful  villa,  which  had  come  into  the  market  a  year 
or  so  after  old  Lossell's  death.  But  Elias  and  his  nurse  had 
both  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  where  they  were.  Elias 
had  been  to  "  see  "  the  proposed  dwelling,  and  had  felt  his 
way  about  its  numerous  rooms.  It  was  all  strange  and 
awkward  for  him.  He  knocked  against  unexpected  ob- 
stacles. He  realized  that  it  could  never  be  home.  It 
would  be  months  before  he  dared  feel  his  way  alone  up  the 
stairs  and  across  the  wide  vestibule.  "  Take  me  home,"  he 
said  wearily.  And  they  brought  him  back  to  the  little 
house. 

But  a  carriage  Hubert  had  insisted  upon  his  having,  in 
spite  of  protests  from  Hendrik,  who  declared  it  to  be  an 
expensive  encumbrance.  "  It  would  procure  for  him  so 
many  more  opportunities  of  taking  the  air,"  said  Hubert. 
And  this  it  did,  but  Elias  found  his  health  beginning  to 
give  way  under  the  want  of  exercise.  So  he  resumed  his 
long  country-walks  with  Johanna.  Johanna,  a  buxom,  full- 
blooded  female  of  nearly  sixty  genial  winters,  would  have 
preferred  the  carriage-drives,  had  she  not  made  up  her 
mind  so  many  years  ago  always  to  prefer  what  was  best 
for  her  charge. 

The  twins,  having  attained  their  twentieth  birthday 
shortly  after  their  father's  death,  had  received  "  venia 
astatis,"  according  to  Dutch  law,  that  is  to  say  they  had 
been  declared  prematurely  of  age.  Hendrik  had  wished  to 
have  this  privilege  restricted  to  himself  alone,  but  Hubert 
refused  to  allow  any  such  distinction  to  be  made  between 
them,  and  he  got  both  his  mother  and  the  old  notary  to 
second  his  demand  for  equal  rights.     The  brother  who  had 


142  GOD'S  FOOL. 

always  looked  upon  himself  as  number  one  was  surprised  to 
see  how  "  le  cadet "  came  to  the  front  in  this  and  other 
matters  of  business.  Hubert  took  his  place  as  if  upheld  by 
some  secret  authority,  and  quietly  imposed  his  ojiinion 
whenever  he  considered  this  desirable.  Hendrik  could  not 
help  smarting  at  times  under  a  feeling  of  Aveakness  he 
seemed  unable  to  overcome. 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  old  merchant  had  been 
wound  up  as  soon  as  the  brothers  were  entitled  to  act.  With 
Notary  Borlett's  willing  co-operation — for  herein  he  felt  he 
was  taking  the  interests  of  all  parties  into  account — a  deed 
was  drawn  up  by  which  Elias  undertook  to  pay  his  step- 
mother an  income  sufficient  to  enable  her  to  keep  up  her 
position  in  Koopstad  as  Hendrik  Lossell's  widow.  This 
deed  received  Elias's  more  or  less  shaky  signature,  his  hand 
being  guided  to  make  it.  The  money  was  not  paid  during 
any  length  of  time,  for  Judith  did  not  survive  her  husband 
many  years.  It  was  a  great  bitterness  to  her  during  this 
closing  period  of  her  life  to  be  dependent  on  the  step-son  to 
whom  she  had  shown  so  little  charity. 

Furthermore  it  was  agreed  that — in  estimating  the 
merchant's  liabilities  and  assets — his  five  shares  in  the  busi- 
ness should  be  rated  at  two  hundred  per  cent.  At  this 
price  they  were  bought  for  Elias,  and  the  surplus,  thus 
obtained,  was  divided  as  Lossell's  residuary  estate.  Con- 
sidering the  profits  made  in  recent  years,  the  price,  though 
high,  could  in  no  wise  be  considered  unreasonable.  But 
the  result  was  that  the  twin-brothers  were  now  entirely 
excluded  from  a  share  in  the  business,  which  became  the 
exclusive  property  of  Elias. 

It  became  the  exclusive  property  of  a  man,  therefore, 
who  was  as  incapable  of  managing  it  to  his  own  advantage 
as  a  babe  unborn.  And  accordingly  all  parties  recognised 
as  just  that  his  two  step-brothers  should  be  taken  into 
partnership  with  him.  A  contract  was  entered  into  by 
which  Elias  was  recognised  as  sleeping  partner,  while  Hen- 


COMPOS  MENTIS.  143 

drik  and  Hubert  were  to  share  all  responsibility  between 
them. 

So  far,  so  good.  But  it  was  when  it  came  to  settling 
the  division  of  profits  that  the  great  diversity  of  opinion 
made  itself  felt.  "  Share  and  share  alike,"  said  Ilendrik. 
"  All  profits  to  be  divided  into  three  equal  parts."  Hubert, 
on  his  side,  clung  to  his  original  idea  that  old  Volderdoes's 
testament  must  be  respected,  and  eighty-five  per  cent,  paid 
out  to  Elias's  fortune.  The  more  his  brother  objected,  the 
more  vehemently  he  defended  his  opinion — not  that  he  de- 
sired to  remain  poor,  but  because  that  obstinacy  of  chivalry 
had  taken  possession  of  him,  into  which  opposition  to  a 
self-sacrificing  offer  will  readily  drive  a  man,  the  poignancy 
of  which  is  increased  by  the  shame  of  the  thought,  that  de- 
feat would,  after  all,  not  be  so  very  unpleasant. 

Hendrik,  however,  flatly  refused  to  waste  his  whole 
existence  in  the  amassing  of  a  useless  pile  of  gold.  He 
would  rather  start  a  new  business  for  himself,  he  said,  than 
bind  his  abilities  down  to  such  life-long  servitude.  The 
notary  admitted  that  chivalry  must  have  its  limits,  even 
among  men  of  business,  and  he  ultimately  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  compromise  by  which  seventy  per  cent,  was 
allotted  as  dividend  to  the  shares  and  thirty  per  cent,  to  the 
acting  partners,  while  it  was  furthermore  agreed  that  the 
latter  should  be  entitled  to  buy  up  a  certain  number  of 
shares,  as  soon  as  they  had  capital  to  do  so,  at  a  price  to  be 
fixed  by  consultation  with  experts.  Other  concessions  Hu- 
bert refused  to  consent  to.  The  brothers  quarrelled  with 
brotherly  energy. 

But  ultimately,  as  each  felt  that  he  had  acted  in  a  truly 
generous  manner,  the  hearts  of  both  were  filled  with  that 
kindly  glow  which  a  good  action  never  fails  to  inspire,  and 
they  settled  down  into  the  daily  routine  of  business,  under 
protest,  but  not  in  animosity,  only  irritated  by  the  thought 
that  the  unfortunate  go-between  should  have  so  woefully 
mismanaged  the  matter. 


144  GOD'S  FOOL. 

They  both  decided,  with  youthful  alacrity,  that  the 
whole  family,  Elias  included,  must  have  a  notary  better  able 
to  do  his  work,  whatever  it  jniglit  happen  to  be.  They 
were  glad  to  find  themselves  agreed  on  any  subject  whatso- 
ever. And  Ilnbert  left  the  choice  of  Borlett's  successor  to 
llendrik. 

And  the  notary,  who  had  arranged  everything  for  these 
overgrown  children  with  much  taking  of  pains  and  com- 
paratively small  profit  to  himself,  smiled  quietly  when  he 
saw  the  brothers  pass  his  door.  He  knew  that  the  man 
who  effects  a  reconciliation  between  various  members  of  a 
quarrelsome  family  is  always  the  last  to  be  forgiven.  But 
presently  he  thought  of  Elias — and  then  the  smile  died  away 
from  his  lips. 

For  Elias,  it  was  now  agreed,  had  the  full  possession  of 
his  wits,  and  therefore  was  responsible  for  what  he  did  with 
them.  No  trustees  of  any  kind  had  been  appointed  to  look 
after  his  affairs.  The  whole  of  his  huge  fortune  lay,  theo- 
retically, at  his  disposal.  In  reality  it  was  invested  almost 
entirely  in  government  securities  or  the  business,  and  looked 
after  by  his  brothers  in  conjunction  with  the  notary. 

"  It  is  much  better  so,"  said  Hubert.  "  The  result  ob- 
tained is  just  the  same  as  if  we  had  been  appointed  cura- 
tors, and  we  avoid  all  the  useless,  wearisome  formalities. 
Besides,  why  subject  him  to  all  the  superfluous  scandal  and 
disgrace  ?  By  acting  thus  we  respect  poor  Elias's  reputa- 
tion in  the  city,  and  we  leave  him  as  free  as  he  possibly  can 
be  in  his  peculiar  circumstances  to  do  what  he  chooses  with 
his  own." 

"  That  is  quite  true,"  said  Hendrik. 

And  many  another  man,  cooler  than  Hubert  or  more 
disinterested  than  Hendrik,  would  have  reasoned  as  they. 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  undoubtedly,"  said  Dr.  Pille- 
naar,  when  Hubert  went  to  him  for  assistance,  "  in  defer- 
ring as  long  as  possible  the  official  declaration  of  your  half- 
brother's  insanity.     It  will  always  be  time  enough,  when 


COMPOS  MENTIS.  145 

the  step  has  become  altogether  inevitable.  And  that  is  not 
nearly  the  case  as  yet.  The  formalities,  as  you  know,  are 
numerous  and  disagreeable,  and  the  practical  result  would 
be  jDretty  much  the  sam-e,  I  suppose,  as  at  present,  namely, 
that  you  and  your  brother  would  manage  his  affairs.  I 
have  my  serious  doubts,  besides,  whether  the  judges  would 
consider  the  case  a  fit  one  for  intervention.  I  am  a  medical 
man,  so  you  must  allow  me  to  abuse  the  lawyers.  But  I  am 
willing  to  admit  that  in  this  particular  instance  I  should  be 
at  a  loss  what  to  say.  Elias  is  not  an  idiot  like  other  idiots. 
As  for  maliciousness,  he  is  a  better  man,  I  fancy,  than  most 
of  us  who  have  got  our  senses  and  make  a  bad  use  of  them. 
As  for  incapacity,  he  can  be  helped  to  sign  his  name ;  he 
can  be  made  to  understand,  at  least  for  the  moment,  what- 
ever is  said  to  him ;  and  he  can  answer  distinctly  enough. 
I  don't  say  he  isn't  imbecile,  but  I  say  that  it  is  difficult  to 
decide  in  what  measure.  He  has  only  got  to  open  those 
magnificent  eyes  of  his.  I  should  always  be  afraid  that  the 
man  of  law  who  finds  those  eyes  fixed  full  upon  him  will 
not  dare  to  say  there  is  anything  wrong  with  the  brains  of 
their  owner.  No,  no.  Avoid  all  extra  uniDleasantness,  and 
be  good  to  him  ;  be  very  good  to  him.  It  is  a  great  respon- 
sibility." 

"  It  is  indeed,"  said  Hubert,  as  he  wrung  the  doctor's 
hand. 

Koopstad,  therefore,  respected  Elias  Lossell  as  it  never 
would  have  done  otherwise,  had  they  taken  his  money  away 
from  him.  Nobody  ever  approached  him,  except  a  very 
few  intimates.  A  halo  of  delicious  golden  mystery  formed 
round  his  solitude  and  his  wealth.  A  number  of  young 
ladies,  and  not  only  the  very  young,  fell  hopelessly  in  love 
with  his  beautiful  face  and  his  beautiful  fortune.  Shoals  of 
begging  letters,  addressed  to  him  personally,  were  delivered 
at  the  little  house.  Johanna  kept  them  from  him,  for  they 
agitated  him  too  much.  But  nevertheless,  he  continued  to 
excite  a  great  deal  of  interest  and  envy  and  cupidity  and 
10 


l-tS  GOD'S  FOOL. 

curiosity.  He  was  the  far-off  wonder  of  the  city.  And  it 
was  touching  to  see,  said  the  neiglibours,  at  first,  how  kind 
liis  brothers  were  to  him.  And  yet  their  relations  must 
often  present  peculiar  difficulties,  because  he  was  so  very 
much  richer  than  they,  you  know. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  Judith  Lossell  Hubert  went 
out  to  Shanghai  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  house  in 
China.  Such  an  arrangement  had  become  unavoidable,  and 
Hubert,  whose  rather  romantic  nature  ever  allowed  itself  to 
be  attracted  by  the  novel  or  the  unusual,  was  far  from  un- 
willing to  go.  There  did  not  exist  so  much  sympathy  be- 
tween the  two  brothers,  that  both  could  not  placidly  con- 
template the  prospect  of  a  separation.  Nor  could  the  part- 
ing from  Elias  cause  his  step-brother  any  very  acute  regret, 
for  Elias  lived  a  life  too  entirely  blocked  out  from  the  rest 
of  the  world  to  be  very  near  to  the  daily  interests  of  any- 
one. Hendrik  would  be  there  to  look  after  him,  and,  still 
better,  Johanna,  and  that  would  suffice. 

A  few  months  later  Hendrik,  tired  of  living  alone,  an- 
nounced to  the  astonished  world  of  Koopstad  his  engage- 
ment to  his  "  cousin,"  Cornelia  Alers.  Koopstad  disap- 
proved of  the  engagement. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

A    "  STRUGGLE-FOR-LIFER." 

That,  in  itself,  would  not  have  had  any  particular 
significance,  for  Koopstad  disapproved  of  every  engagement. 
Not  of  engagements  in  general,  for  these  it  considered  to  be 
the  very  pillar  and  foundation  of  the  State,  but  somehow, 
if  you  believed  the  Koopstad  ladies,  the  wrong  people  were 
always  getting  engaged  to  each  other.  The  whole  subject, 
of  course,  concerns  the  ladies  only ;  the  gentlemen  took  a 
very  languid  interest  in  it,  and  ordinarily  confined  them- 
selves to  pitying  the  man — brutes.  But  it  certainly  was 
very  deeply  to  be  deplored  that,  whereas  a  young  betrothal 
is  always  such  a  beautiful  and  interesting  and  touching 
event,  the  ladies  of  Koopstad  never  could  entirely  surrender 
themselves  to  the  charm  of  contemplating  one  with  feelings 
of  unmixed  satisfaction.  "  It  was  a  very  desirable  match 
from  many  points  of  view,  but" — and  then  they  would 
lower  their  horns  and  butt  at  the  unfortunate  pair.  And 
indeed  it  is  very  sad  to  contemplate  the  perversity  of  all 
these  young  people  who  will  not  see  that  they  could  be  per- 
fectly happy  and  excellently  suited  to  each  other,  if  only 
the  couples  would  make  up  differently.  It  is  very  sad,  and 
it  would  be  still  much  sadder,  if  the  peculiarity  of  Koop- 
stad were  not  peculiar  to  every  corner  of  the  globe  where 
three  women  with  marriageable  daughters,  or  with  marriage- 
able selves,  get  together  over  fifteen  cups  of  tea — it  is  coffee 
in  Germany,  but  the  principle  remains  the  same.  And  a 
woman  long  thinks  her  daughters  marriageable,  and,  if  she 
have  no  daughters,  herself  yet  more  marriageable  still. 


148  GOD'S  FOOL. 

It  was  not  only  the  ladies  of  Koojjstad,  however  (whose 
sincerity  could  not  even  reckon  on  mutual  recognition),  that 
cried  out  at  the  news  of  Hendrik  Lossell's  engagement. 
No  woman  ever  listens  with  any  degree  of  confidence  to  an- 
other woman's  talk  about  her  own  sex — they  know  too  well, 
the  darlings,  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  their  sugared 
blame  and  yet  more  sourly  sugared  praise — ah,  sugar  is  a 
terrible  acid ! — but  when  the  men  unanimously  declared 
Hendrik  to  be  a  fool,  their  wives  and  daughters  sat  up  and 
listened.  Stereotyped  expressions  of  condolence  with  a 
"  victim '"  the  ladies  were  accustomed  to ;  they  considered, 
however,  that  this  particular  case  was  entitled  to  more 
detailed  discussion.  What  had  the  men  to  say  against 
Mejuffrouw  Cornelia  Alers? 

Well,  to  begin  with,  she  was  a  couple  of  years  older 
than  her  suitor,  and,  you  know,  we  always  pull  up  our  noses 
at  that,  especially  when  the  boy  is  just  under  thirty,  and 
the  old  lady  is  just — this  pen  refuses  to  write  the  word  that 
was  destined  to  follow.  Let  lawyers  and  doctors  do  what 
ignoble  duty  their  professions  may  sometimes  require  of 
them  ;  no  gentleman  ever  yet  said  of  his  own  free  will  that 
an  unmarried  woman  was  over  thirty. 

For  the  last  year  or  two  Cornelia  Alers  had  been  twenty- 
nine. 

In  addition  to  this  she  had  a  Roman  nose.  With  a 
woman's  aptitude  for  seeing  her  own  bright  side,  she  con- 
sidered that  this  ancient  feature  imparted  an  aristocratic 
appearance  to  her  face.  And  perhaps  she  was  not  alto- 
gether mistaken  in  her  supposition,  for  she  certainly  had  an 
air  of  hauteur  over  her  which  she  possibly  owed  to  the  bend 
of  the  nose,  or  possibly  to  her  unusual  height  (no  execrable 
pun  is  intended),  or  yet  more  probably  to  her  indomitable 
trust  in  her  own  superiority.  Having  been  placed,  a  big 
woman,  in  a  limited  sphere,  she  had  firmly  resolved  to  bring 
her  surroundings  into  harmony  with  her  stature,  and  so  she 
set  her  heavy  foot  on  the  social  ladder  of  Koopstad  and 


A     STRUGGLE-FOR-LIFER."  I49 

clomb,  and  clomb,  higher  and  higher,  as  high  as  little  Hen- 
drik  Lossell.  The  social  ladder  of  Koopstad  was  a  living 
organism,  more  like  a  tree  than  a  ladder,  securely  planted 
and  rooted  in  the  mean  soil  of  our  dusty  humanity,  manured 
by  frequent  offerings  of  filthy  lucre,  and  daily  watered  with 
the  tears  of  the  unsuccessful  aspirants  down  below.  Hen- 
drik  Lossell  did  not  sit  on  its  topmost  branch — Elias  would 
have  sat  there,  had  he  not  been  an  idiot — but  he  sat  at  an 
elevation  where  the  fruit  already  hung  sufficiently  thick, 
and  where  the  ladies  of  the  company,  when  they  looked 
downwards,  which  they  seldom  did,  could  no  longer  per- 
ceive the  Cornelia  Alerses.  This  social  tree,  for  it  is  a  tree, 
and  no  ladder,  has  in  common  with  some  few  other  trees 
that  its  fruit  grows  thickest  towards  the  top,  and  it  has  in 
common  with  most,  that  no  fruit  at  all  ever  grows  on  the 
bare  stem  which  supports  the  fat  little  crown,  and  feeds  it. 

Cornelia  Alers  believed  that  happiness  dwelt  at  the  top 
of  the  tree,  and  misery  at  the  bottom.  You  would  have 
thought  that  she  had  never  tasted  rotten  fruit,  nor  ever  re- 
posed in  the  shade. 

Her  belief  had  in  it  that  element  of  ignorance  which 
peppers  all  belief.  For  she  knew  nothing  either  of  the  hard 
work  at  the  bottom  nor  of  the  sunshiny  indolence  at  the 
top.  The  Alerses  were  by  no  means  great  people  in  Koop- 
stad, but  they  were  just  unlittle  enough  to  frantically  aspire 
to  be  greater.  Yet — thank  Heaven — they  were  not  so  little 
that  their  daughters,  however  needy,  should  stoop  to  honest 
work.  Koopstad  is  old-fashioned,  and  it  checks  the  tide  in 
many  places  where  larger  communities  have  already  sailed 
out  to  sea. 

The  Alerses  had  committed  the  seven  cardinal  sins,  for 
they  were  poor,  and  they  had  committed  an  eighth,  for  Alers 
senior  had  married  above  him.  This  eighth  transgression, 
by  attracting  notice,  brought  out  the  misery  of  all  the  other 
seven.  And  the  junior  Alerses,  the  lawyer  and  his  brother 
and  Cornelia  and  her  three  sisters,  soon  found  that  their 


150  GOD'S  FOOL. 

only  chance  of  absolution  was  to  go  and  sin  no  more.  So 
they  played  in  the  State  Lottery,  and  also  in  the  lottery  of 
the  married  state,  and  they  wriggled  and  haggled,  and  turned 
their  dresses  and  their  opinions,  and  ran  errands  and  social 
risks,  and  fell  and  picked  themselves  up  and  smiled  sweetly 
when  people  asked — also  sweetly — whether  they  were  hurt. 
There  was  not  one  form  of  shabby-genteel  suffering  from 
which  they  shrank.  They  even  went  to  stay  with  their 
mother's  rich  relations.  The  world  is  full  of  these  quiet 
heroisms  "  that  nobody  knows  nothing  of."  We  have  all 
admired,  and  rightly,  the  Spartan  boy  whose  face  remained 
serene  while  the  fox  was  consuming  his  vitals,  but  we  nowhere 
read  that  he  sat  smiling,  smiling  all  through  that  repast,  and 
then  said  it  was  the  nicest  thing  on  earth  and  when  might 
he  come  again  ?  People  gave  him  immense  credit  for  his 
fortitude,  as  he  knew  they  would  be  sure  to  do  all  the  time 
he  was  performing,  but  all  those  who  had  "  arrived  "  said 
the  Alerses  were  fools  for  their  pains  and  laughed  when 
they  slipped  off  the  rungs  of  the  ladder. 

And  so  the  stately  Cornelia  was  engaged  to  Hendrik 
Lossell.  How  had  she  managed  to  obtain  his  consent? 
That  was  the  question  which  Koopstad — at  least  female 
Koopstad — was  dying  to  know.  Many  a  man  has  become 
a  great  general  by  studying  other  great  generals'  victories. 

Alas,  the  conquest  of  Hymen's  land  is  rarely  the  prize 
of  a  brief  camjoaign,  unless  the  invader  be  largely  supplied 
with  the  sinews  of  war.  Cornelia  had  plenty  of  sinews,  but 
they  were  not  of  the  right  kind.  They  helped  her,  how- 
ever, to  dance  attendance  (literally)  at  every  raid  into  the 
enemy's  country  to  which  she  could  procure  an  invitation. 
And  she  got  somebody's  cousin  to  have  Thomas  put  up  for 
the  Casino,  on  the  express  understanding  that  Hendrik  was 
to  be  2out  up  too. 

Do  not  accuse  the  young  fellow  of  being  a  heartless 
cynic  who  stood  watching  her  tall  figure  and  skinny  shoul- 
ders through  the  mazes  of  the  dance,  and  who,  from  his  safe 


A  "STRUGGLE-FOR-LIFER."  151 

coign  of  vantage  against  a  window,  sent  forth  unkind 
thoughts  about  women  generally  upon  the  patient  air.  They 
were  true,  I  doubt  not,  but  he  did  not  mean  them.  No  good 
man  ever  thinks  bad  thoughts  about  women.  They  waylay 
him,  and  rob  him  of  all  he  possesses — his  good  name,  first, 
which  was  not  of  much  use  to  himself,  probably,  but  which 
is  utterly  Avorthless  to  them — and  when  they  have  stripped 
him  entirely  and  left  him  lying  bleeding  in  the  way,  they 
come  back  after  a  minute  to  give  him  another  ha'penny- 
worth  of  happiness  and  to  twist  their  pretty  fingers  round 
once  more  in  his  gaping  wounds,  and  then  they  kill  him. 
But  he  never  utters  a  word  of  complaint,  and  he  smiles  upon 
them,  and  is  good  and  beautiful  and  patient  in  death.  That 
is  to  say,  if  he  be  a  man  deserving  the  name.  It  is  only 
your  base-born  cowards  that  beg  for  quarter.  "  Your  money 
or  your  life,"  cries  the  brigand  who  meets  you  on  the  high- 
road. And  you  give  your  money  cheerfully  to  avoid  the 
alternative,  especially  if  you  happen  to  have  left  your  purse 
at  home.  Beware  of  the  woman-brigand.  She  asks  for 
both. 

Give  them  to  her.  Only  mind  you  choose  your  brigand 
wisely.     You  will  be  all  the  happier  for  your  loss. 

The  man  who  would  speak  evil  of  a  woman  is  a  churl. 

The  poor  things  are  already  sufficiently  hard-pressed. 
For  all  the  women  do  it. 

All  the  females  who  attended  the  Casino-gatherings 
said  unkind  things  about  Cornelia  and  her  improvised 
dresses  from  her  eighteenth  year  to  her  twenty-sixth.  Then 
they  pitied  her  too  sincerely  to  honour  her  with  more  than 
an  occasional  sneer,  and  she  was  ticketed  and  numbered  and 
put  away.  Xobody  thought  any  more  about  her,  but  that 
did  not  hinder  her  thinking  about  herself.  And  so  she 
laboured  on  quietly,  while  others  played  around  her.  Poor 
weary  straggler,  if  she  be  not  deserving  of  pity,  to  whom 
shall  we  accord  it?  And  when  all  the  ladies  said  that  she 
must  be  at  least  a  hundred,  and  all  the  gentlemen  that 


152  GOD'S   FOOL, 

really,  you  know,  tliey  were  certain  she  could  not  be  younger 
than  Lossell,  she  hooked  the  young  fellow,  and  played, 
landed,  frittered,  fried  and  swallowed  him  before  the  horri- 
fied eyes  of  the  entire  female  population  of  Koopstad. 

And  this  is  how  it  came  about.  How  can  anyone's  bi- 
ographer be  excused  for  telling  it  ?  It  has  all  been  told  a 
hundred  times  before.  I  sometimes  wonder,  had  Eve  been 
born  without  the  wiles  of  Eve's  daughters,  would  there  ever 
have  been  the  story  of  Adam's  sons  to  tell  ? 

She  was  hopeless  at  last,  was  the  brave  huntress,  utterly 
dispirited  and  dejected,  despite  her  Eoman  nose.  Her 
younger  sister,  Aurelia,  had  made  a  capital  settlement,  hav- 
ing married  an  old  widower  with  sixty  thousand  florins  a 
year  and  six  daughters,  the  whole  half  dozen  of  whom  she 
had  sent  out  to  boarding-school  within  a  month  after  she 
had  entered  the  house.  Another  sister,  just  out,  was  to  be 
seen  at  the  Casino  every  Wednesday  and  Friday,  fleeing  in 
Parthian  style  from  a  young  officer  whom — to  remain  classi- 
cal— the  victory  of  Pyrrhus  would  too  soon  befall.  And 
she,  she  went  up  to  her  chamber-window  to  look  vainly 
down  the  desolate  road.  That  is  to  say,  she  sat  down  on 
her  sofa  and  sighed.  It  was  no  use  looking  out  of  her  win- 
dow, for  she  would  only  have  caught  cold  and  reddened  the 
Roman  nose.     Besides,  there  was  no  one  there. 

"  I  shall  give  up  going  to  the  Casino,"  she  remarked  to 
Thomas.  "Do  you  know,  I  think  it  has  got  very  stupid  of 
late.     All  the  nice  people  seem  to  stop  away." 

"Lossell  had  a  committee  meeting  of  some  sort  to- 
night," said  Thomas. 

She  flashed  out  at  him.  "  There  are  more  people  in  the 
world  than  Lossell,"  she  said,  "  and  nicer.  I  wasn't  think- 
ing of  him." 

"  Of  course  not,"  he  answered.  "  You  were  thinking  of 
Paffer." 

Paffer  was  the  young  officer,  whom  Cornelia  hated  like 
poison,  on  account  of  her  sister's  success. 


A  "  STRUGGLE-FOR-LIFER."  153 

"  You  are  pleased,"  she  said,  "  to  think  yourself  funny. 
And  so  you  would  be,  if  you  weren't  stupid." 

"  And  you  are  proud,"  he  replied,  "  to  think  yourself 
spiteful.     And  so  you  would  be,  if  you  weren't  unhappy." 

You  see,  they  were  hardly  an  amiable  couple,  this 
brother  and  sister.  They  were  given  to  recrimination,  and 
vulgar  squabbling.  But  they  liked  each  other,  in  their  own 
disagreeable  way. 

After  a  few  moments — while  Cornelia,  struck  by  the 
accuracy  of  her  brother's  last  thrust,  was  still  casting  about 
for  a  reply — Thomas  began  again  : 

"  Look  here,  Cornelia,  we  needn't  joke  through  the  last 
scene  of  what  is  fast  turning  into  a  tragedy.  You're  as 
good — or  as  bad — as  an  old  woman  by  this  time.  Best  be 
plain-spoken.  You've  been  lying  in  the  shop-window  for 
nigh  upon  a  dozen  seasons,  and — demmy — reduced  prices 
or  not,  you  can't  be  left  there  much  longer.  As  you  say, 
you  had  much  better  give  over  going  to  the  Casino,  where 
you  only  serve  as  a.  foil  to  the  younger  girls.  Look  the  in- 
evitable future  in  the  face,  as  you  ought  to  have  done  six 
years  ago,  and  take  your  seat  by  the  fireplace  and  knit." 

If  Thomas  spoke  thus  coarsely,  it  was  very  much  on  ac- 
count of  his  own  anger  and  disgust  at  his  sister's  failure.  He 
was  anxious,  too,  about  her  ultimate  fate,  for,  though  you 
might  easily  talk  about  sitting  down  by  the  fireside,  it  would 
not  be  so  easy  to  say  who  would  pay  for  coals.  Like  her 
sisters,  Cornelia  had  invested  her  small  patrimony  in  the 
matrimonial  business.     Bankruptcy  seemed  impending. 

"You  had  better  sell  your  muslin  ball-dress  to  Ninnie," 
added  the  head  of  the  family.  "  It  will  do  for  her  betrothal 
to  Paffer." 

Cornelia's  rugged  old  heart  was  not  easily  shaken.  But 
under  these  heavy  blows  of  her  brother's  hammer  a  pair  of 
tears  squeezed  through  the  crevices  and  rolled  slowly  down 
her  cheeks. 

Young  Thomas  was  not  proof  against  these  silent  symp- 


154  GOD'S  FOOL. 

toms  of  distress.  "  I  don't  mean  to  be  unkind,"  he  said 
uneasily.  " Only  we  may  us  well  'sail  straight.'  The  case 
is  desperate.  It's  '  kill  or  cure.'  Now,  I'm  willing  to  do 
all  I  can  to  help  you.  Do  you  want  Hendrik  Lossell  to  pro- 
pose to  you,  or  do  you  not  ?  " 

Cornelia  made  a  movement  of  disavowal. 

"  I  know  you  do,"  said  Thomas  coolly.  "  Of  course. 
Well,  I  will  undertake  that  he  shall  come  and  ask  you  to  be 
his  wife  within  less  than  twelve  hours — that  is,  therefore, 
to-morrow  morning  before  lunch — if  you  undertake,  on 
your  part,  to  help  me  afterwards  in  anything  I  may  stand  in 
need  of.  AVe  go  into  partnership,  and  this  is  the  first  stroke 
of  business  combined  by  the  firm.     Is  it  a  bargain  ?  " 

"  Get  him  to  do  as  you  say,"  whispered  Cornelia,  "  and 
I'll  do  anything  you  like  for  you  afterwards,  Thomas.  Oh, 
Thomas,  I  canH  be  an  old  maid !  " 

"  No,  you  can't,"  said  Thomas.     "  We  can't  afford  it." 

And  so  they  shook  hands  on  their  contract. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    MAREIAGE-LOTTERY. 

The  next  morning,  at  an  early  hour — the  doors  of  the 
office  were  barely  open — Thomas  Alers  was  ushered  into  the 
private  room  of  the  acting  head  of  the  house  of  Volderdoes 
Zonen. 

The  actual  head  of  the  firm  and  proprietor  of  the  busi- 
ness was  at  that  moment  pottering  about  in  the  greenhouse 
which  his  brothers  had  built  for  him  on  his  modest  prem- 
ises, and  querulously  demanding  of  the  gardener  whether 
or  no  the  pink  chrysanthemums  had  already  come  out. 

Hendrik  Lossell  did  not  rise  to  receive  his  visitor,  but 
extended  the  tips  of  his  fingers  with  a  slightly  condescend- 
ing air.  He  was  very  proud  of  his  position  at  that  great 
table  full  of  documents,  was  Hendrik  Lossell.  All  the 
prouder,  perhaps,  because  the  position  was  not  quite  what  it 
ought  to  have  been  and  what  he  had  always  expected,  for 
the  whole  of  Koopstad  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  real 
owner  of  the  business  was  the  fool. 

The  young  Hendrik  could  only  prolong  the  connection 
which  the  old  one  had  begun  and  lived  through,  and  suf- 
fered and  died  under.  They  were  practically  everything,  ex- 
cept   After  all,  they  remained  intruders,  hard-work- 
ing, inadequately  rewarded  intruders,  and  the  real  Voider- 
does  was  Elias. 

"  How  de  do,"  said  Hendrik  carelessly.  We  have 
dropped  the  note  of  interrogation  in  that  question  long  ago. 
"  Keen  weather,  eh  ?  "     Nevertheless,  he  was  surprised  that 


156  GOD'S  FOOL. 

the  hand  which  Alers  drew  out  of  a  thickly  wadded  glove 
should  be  so  cold.  He  did  not  know  when  the  glove  had 
been  put  on.  Looking  up,  he  was  surprised  to  see  that 
the  young  advocate's  face  betrayed  signs  of  considerable 
agitation.  A  good  deal  more,  besides  the  glove,  had  been 
put  on  at  the  door. 

"  Good  heavens,  what's  the  matter  ?  "  cried  Hendrik — 
the  note  of  interrogation  now  in  full  play. 

"  Hush,"  replied  Thomas  in  alarm.  "  Nothing.  AVhy 
do  you  ask,  Lossell  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  Just  look  at  your  face  in  the  glass  !  A  man 
doesn't  look  like  that  and  expect  no  one  to  notice  it." 

Thomas  cast  a  quick  glance  at  a  narrow  mirror  which 
hung  between  the  two  windows — the  great,  squinting  China- 
man was  over  the  mantelpiece.  The  cute  young  lawyer 
recognised  with  satisfaction  his  own  aptitude  for  playing  a 
part,  but  he  exaggerated  his  self-praise  (some  people  do), 
for  nature  had  helped  him  considerably  by  flurrying  him  in 
spite  of  himself. 

"  I  assure  you  it's  nothing,"  he  said,  "  at  least  nothing  to 
agitate  anyone,  only  I  am  so  stupid  in  these  matters.  But 
I  may  as  well  tell  you,  Lossell.  In  fact,  I  wanted  to  tell 
you.  Imagine  what  has  happened  to  me  this  morning. 
One  of  the  last  things  I  should  have  expected  ever  to  occur 
to  such  unfortunates  as  our  family  have  always  been.  You 
are  sure  no  one  can  hear  us  ?  " — he  looked  apprehensively 
towards  the  glass  doors,  which  were  closed.  It  was  a  pecul- 
iarity of  Hendrik  Junior's  character  that  he  elected  to  have 
them  closed  as  a  rule,  in  spite  of  the  inconvenience  and  dis- 
turbance occasioned  by  the  constant  opening  and  shutting, 
as  message  after  message  passed  from  the  outer  office  into 
the  inner  room.  Herein  he  was  different  from  his  father, 
who  had  always  preferred  to  remain  in  touch  with  the  clerks 
at  work  beyond. 

"  Of  course  not,"  said  Hendrik  impatiently.     "  Go  on." 

"  I  had  a  letter  from  our  Amsterdam  bankers  this  morn- 


THE  MARRIAGE-LOTTERY.  157 

ing,  Heuk. — Don't  laugh  at  our  having  bankers  "  (Lossell 
was  not  thinking  of  laughing).  "Every  poor  beggar  has. 
The  robbers  manage  to  secure  their  tax  on  ten  florins  as 
well  as  on  ten  thousand. — Well,  I  had  a  letter  from  them 
this  morning  and — you  saw  the  announcement  in  the  even- 
ing papers  yesterday  about  the  first  prize  of  the  Vienna  1864 
Lottery  having  '  fallen  '  in  Amsterdam  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  cried  Hendrik,  "  and  I  wondered  who  the  lucky 
beggar  was.  It's  a  fortune.  Donnerwetter !  Tommy,  it 
isn't  you  ?  " 

"  Xot  me,  no,  worse  luck.  I  wish  it  was.  But  it's  Cor- 
nelia. Hang  her.  As  if  girls  wanted  money  to  get  through 
the  world ! " 

"  I  suppose  everybody  wants  that,"  said  Hendrik  moodily. 
He  was  pricked  with  envy,  and  he  didn't  see  why  the  eldest 
Miss  Alers  should  not  need  a  little  ready  cash  to  secure  her 
a  place  in  the  wedding-coach. 

"  Yes,  but  a  man  wants  it  to  buy  bread  with,  and  a 
woman  to  buy  cake.  A  woman  of  our  class  always  gets  her 
bread  from  somebody,  husband  or  father  or  brother.  Now 
this  sum  in  my  hands  would  have  meant  a  million  within  a 
twelvemonth,  while  in  my  sister's  it  represents  a  respectable 
four  per  cent,  till  the  end  of  the  chapter." 

For  it  was  in  the  good  old  time  when  people  still  got 
four  per  cent,  for  their  money,  and  yet  slept  at  night. 

"  You  penniless  people  always  think  money  breeds  like 
rabbits,"  said  Hendrik  snappishly.  "  I  wish  to  goodness  it 
would.  But  I'm  sure  I  congratulate  you.  It's  a  fortune, 
as  I  said.' 

"  Hardly  a  fortune.  It's  about  a  quarter  of  a  million 
florins,  but  an  outrageous  quantity  goes  off  in  Government 
percentage  and  so  on.  Still,  it's  a  lot  of  money.  You 
must  congratulate  her,  though,  not  me.  It's  no  advantage 
to  me  in  any  way,  except  in  so  far  as  I'm  awfully  glad  for 
her." 

After  that,  neither  spoke  for  a  few  moments,  for  each 


158  GOD'S  FOOL. 

was  busy  with  his  own  thonglits.  Thought  Thomas :  "  If 
he  doesn't  begin  noAV,  I  shall  have  to." 

And  Ilendrik  thought :  "  Here  goes  !  " 

"  Does  your  sister  Cornelia  know  already  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,  not  yet." 

"  And  I  suppose  nobody  else  does,  in  that  case  ?  " 

"  No.  I  got  the  letter  just  as  I  was  starting  for  my 
office,  and  then  I  thought  I  might  as  well  come  round  and 
tell  you  on  my  way.  But  I  must  be  off.  I'm  late  enough, 
as  it  is." 

And  he  jumped  up,  and  began  buttoning  his  coat. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  cried  Hendrik.  "  By  Jove,  Tom,  I 
wish  you  had  kept  your  secret  a  day  or  two  longer.  Your 
bringing  it  to  me  puts  me  in  a  very  awkward  position.  I — 
I  hardly  know  how  to  say  it." 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Alers  sharply,  turning  full  upon  him. 

"  Well,  look  here.  You  know  I  have  long  been — how 
shall  I  express  it  ? — paying  my  court  to  your  sister.  Jc  lui 
ai  fait  un  brin  de  cour.     You  must  have  noticed  it." 

"  Never,"  said  Thomas  energetically. 

"  Oh,  come,  you  must  have.  Why,  everybody  did.  I've 
been  chaffed  about  it  over  and  over  again  at  the  Casino. 
People  thought  Ave  were  engaged." 

It  was  true  that  he  had  been  chaffed,  but  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  the  dead  set  the  Roman  nose  had  made  at  him. 
"  Fly  to  me^  my  good  Henkie,"  a  fat  motherly  old  aunt  had 
said  to  him,  spreading  out  her  wide  skirts  from  her  seat 
against  the  wall.  "  Creep  under,  if  the  worst  comes  to  the 
worst.  I  shall  tell  her,  when  she  looks  for  you,  that  you 
are  lost  in  admiration." 

"  I  never  heard  about  it,"  said  Thomas.  "  But  that 
proves  nothing.  Brothers  are  the  last  people  to  hear  that 
kind  of  chaff." 

"  It's  true,  all  the  same ;  and  no  wonder  I  should  think 
of  marrying.  That  big  house  is  very  lonely  since  my 
mother  died  last  year.     And  I've  been  looking  for  an  oppor- 


THE  MARRIAGE-LOTTERY.  159 

tunity  to  ask  your  sister  about  it — by  G ,  I  have.     I 

should  have  doue  so,  in  all  probability,  last  night,  if  I  hadn't 
been  prevented  from  going  to  the  Casino." 

He  almost  believed  himself,  with  such  energy  of  convic- 
tion did  he  speak. 

"  Now,  you  see,"  he  went  on  hurriedly,  sweeping  over 
the  words,  ere  his  friend  could  interrupt,  "  this  scrap  of  in- 
formation you  have  just  brought  me  puts  me  in  a  very  pain- 
ful position.  For  if  I  choose  this  moment  to  projDose  to 
your  sister,  everybody  will  say  that  I  did  it  for  the  money. 
Of  course  that's  absurd,  as  you  know.  I  may  not  be  as  rich 
as  I  ought  to  be,  or  as  some  people  think,  but  I'm  not  poor 
enough  not  to  feel  free  in  the  choice  of  a  wife." 

"I  don't  know  about  jDCople's  thinking,"  said  Thomas. 
"  I  believe  it's  pretty  generally  known  that  your  step-brother 
is  the  rich  man,  and  not  you." 

Hendrik  winced.     Decidedly  Thomas  was  cruel. 

"Yes,  that  was  Hubert's  doing,"  said  Hendrik.  "He 
couldn't  keep  a  quiet  tongue  in  his  head.  He's  much  better 
away  at  Shanghai  with  his  English  wife.  But  you  must 
admit  it  would  look  strange." 

"  Very  strange,"  said  Thomas  gravely. 

"  Not  so  very  strange,  hang  it,  if  people  weren't  always 
so  disgracefully  ill-natured,  for  everybody  knows,  as  I  say, 
that  I  have  long  been  intending  to  propose." 

"  Ah,  but  you  didn't  do  it,"  interrujited  Thomas. 

"  Oh,  but,  Tom,  I  say :  do  you  mean  to  imply  that  I 
want  Cornelia  for  her  money,  when  I  never  heard  till  to- 
day of  her  possessing  a  penny  in  the  world  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dear  fellow  ;  it's  the  last  thing  I  should  think 
of.  I  am  quite  sure  you  would  be  far  above  anything  of 
the  kind.  But  we  must  reckon,  as  you  say,  with  the  ill- 
natured  world  around  us.  The  worst  of  it  is,  these  money 
matters  can  never  be  kept  dark,  in  spite  of  everybody  con- 
cerned being  sworn  to  inviolable  secrecy.  You  see,  the  fact 
has  got  into  the  papers  already,  the  name,  in  spite  of  any- 


IGO  GOD'S  FOOL. 

thing  we  can  do,  will  be  all  over  the  place  iu  a  couple  of 
days.  And  neither  the  rest  of  the  world,  nor  Cornelia  her- 
self, will  consider  the  moment  was  happily  selected  for  a 
proposal." 

"  But  if  I  had  been  at  the  Casino  last  night,  or  you 
hadn't  told  me  this  morning,  I  shouldn't  have  known,"  said 
Hendrik  obstinately. 

"  That  is  true,"  acquiesced  the  young  lawyer  thought- 
fully. And  he  stood  for  a  moment,  considering  the  dilemma. 
Then  he  said :  "  If  you  mean  what  you  say,  Hendrik,  as 
doubtless  you  do,  the  only  way  I  can  see  out  of  the  difficulty 
is  for  you  to  get  the  whole  business  over  with  Cornelia  be- 
fore she,  or  anybody  else,  knows  anything  of  this  change  in 
her  fortunes.  Iu  that  case  I  will  tell  Cornelia  that,  know- 
ing you  were  intending  to  ask  her,  I  kept  back  my  news 
that  you  might  not  be  influenced  by  it,  and  we  sha'n't  let 
out  the  story,  if  we  can  help  it,  till  after  your  engagement 
has  been  announced." 

"  Capital ! "  cried  Hendrik.  "  You're  a  right-down 
good  fellow,  Tom.  In  that  case  there's  no  time  to  be 
lost."  He  actually  ran  toward  the  peg  on  which  his  hat 
and  coat  were  hung.  But,  in  doing  so,  he  stopped.  He  was 
not  half  such  a  rogue,  after  all,  as  the  other. 

"  Only,  I  say,"  he  began,  "  is  that  quite  fair  towards 
your  sister  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Thomas  coolly.  "  It  isn't.  And,  there- 
fore, as  you  yourself  broach  the  subject,  let  me  be  plain 
Avith  you.  It  isn't  fair  to  her.  Accordingly,  it  must  be 
understood  between  us  that  you  ask  her  at  once,  without  the 
slightest  delay,  to  be  your  wife.  If  she  refuses  you,  there's 
an  end  of  the  matter.  If  she  accepts  you,  I  tell  her,  also  at 
once,  about  this  lottery-prize.  And  then  you  must  return 
her  her  liberty  and  leave  her  altogether  free  to  reconsider 
her  decision.  So  much  you  owe  to  her,  but  you  needn't  be 
alarmed.  If  I  know  anything  of  my  sister,  she  will  act 
honorably  under  all  circumstances.     And  then,  as  soon  as 


THE  MARRIAGE-LOTTERY.  161 

these  preliminaries  are  settled,  there  must  be  no  time  lost 
before  giving  the  news  to  the  world." 

"  I  accept,"  said  Hendrik,  taking  down  his  hat.  "  Shall 
I  find  your  sister  at  home  if  I  go  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  wait  a  minute.  I'm  willing  to  do  you  this 
service  and  keep  a  quiet  tongue  in  my  head.  But  you'll 
remember,  please,  that  I  did  so,  and  when  the  time  comes, 
you'll  not  deny  that  you  owe  me  a  good  turn  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Hendrik.  "  Can  I  take  you  on  any- 
where ?  I  shall  have  a  cab  called  at  once."  And  he 
whistled  through  a  speaking  tube  that  lay  upon  his  writing- 
table. 

"  Well,  as  you  offer  it.  I'm  awfully  late.  I  don't  know 
what  my  clients  will  say.  Let  us  arrange  that  I  fetch  you 
at  our  house  after  a  couple  of  hours,  and  then,  if  all  be  sat- 
isfactorily decided,  we  can  lunch  together  at  the  Club  and 
start  the  news  of  your  engagement.  There's  nothing  in  the 
world — not  even  wildfire — spreads  half  as  fast." 

"  Yes,  that  will  do  very  well." 

"  But  it's  a  bargain  about  my  getting  help  from  you  in 
my  turn  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hendrik  with  his  lips  to  the  tube. 


11 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 

BLANK. 

"  Well  ?  "  asked  Thomas  a  couple  of  hours  later,  paus- 
inof  in  the  hall  of  his  own  house  as  Hendrik  issued  from 
the  door  of  the  dining-room  to  meet  him. 

"  You  may  congratulate  the  happiest  of  mortals,"  replied 
Lossell.     "  Cornelia  has  promised  to  be  mine." 

"  So  be  it,"  said  Thomas.  "  Now  just  let  me  go  in  to 
her  for  a  moment,  and  then  we  can  drive  to  the  Club  to- 
gether.    I  see  you  have  kept  your  cab." 

"  Yes,  to  sit  in  and  wait,  in  case  she  had  refused  me," 
answered  Hendrik  gaily. 

"  Two  hours  !  "  ejaculated  Thomas,  shaking  his  head. 
"  Well,  well,  true  love  was  always  reckless  and  regardless  of 
expense."  And  he  disappeared  behind  the  dining-room 
door,  closing  it  carefully  after  him. 

The  fair  Cornelia  was  standing  by  the  window,  looking 
out  into  the  dull  garden.  She  turned  round  slowly,  as  her 
brother  came  in.  There  was  a  glad  light  of  contentment 
over  her  forehead,  but  it  died  away  at  sight  of  the  young 
advocate,  just  as  the  sunlight  slips  from  your  chamber-wall 
before  a  falling  blind. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Thomas,  repeating  the  brief  greeting  he 
had  used  to  Hendrik. 

"  He  has  proposed  to  me,"  replied  Cornelia  dryly,  "  and 
I  have  accepted  him.     That  is  all." 

"  All  ?  "  said  Thomas  indignantly.  "  Xonsense.  You 
might  give  me  a  word  of  thanks  for  having  managed  so  well 


BLANK.  163 

for  you  what  young  ladies  usually  settle  for  themselves." 
He  threw  a  hundredweight  of  spite  on  the  word  "  young." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  averred  Cornelia  with  no  less  acri- 
mony, "  he  tells  me  that  he  has  been  wanting  to  ask  me  for 
ever  so  long.  He  says  modesty  has  deterred  him;  that's 
rubbish.  Modesty  only  deters  men  from  doing  what  they 
don't  wish  to  do  but  ought  to.  And  as  soon  as  you  want 
him  to  do  it,  he  does  it.  That  means  that  you've  been 
keeping  him  back  hitherto.  And  I  should  like  to  know 
how,  Thomas,  and  why." 

"  I  ?  "  said  Thomas  innocently.  "  Come,  that's  too  bad. 
The  patcher-up  of  lovers'  quarrels  always  gets  the  abuse 
they  had  destined  for  each  other.  My  dear  Corry,  I  regret 
that  I  couldn't  get  him  sooner.  Be  glad  that  I  got  him  so 
soon.     You  must  allow  that  twelve  hours  isn't  bad." 

"  If  you  have  got  him  so  soon,"  she  insisted,  "  you  could 
have  got  him  much  sooner.  You  have  been  keeping  him 
off,  and  I  repeat  I  should  like  to  know  why." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  :  "  Keeping  him  off  ! "  he  re- 
peated with  scorn.  "  I  had  trouble  enough  to  bring  him 
up  to  the  scratch.  Swallow  him,  and  digest  him  thank- 
fully, and  ask  no  questions  as  to  how  he  was  caught  and 
cooked.     Poor  fellow  !  " 

"  Thomas  !  "  she  burst  out,  the  tears  of  rage  gathering  in 
her  eyes,  "  I  don't  believe  you.  To  think  that  I  could  havo 
been  married  perhaps  before  I  was  th-th-thirty  !  " — her 
feelings  overcame  her. — "  Go  away ! "  she  cried,  "  I  don't 
want  ever  to  see  you  again  !  " 

"  Dear  me,"  said  Thomas  coolly.  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you 
can  still  be  childish.  I  should  have  thought  you  would 
have  forgotten  the  way  by  this  time.  '  Before  you  were 
thirty ! '  "What  utter  folly,  Cornelia.  Lossell  hasn't  been 
hesitating  as  long  as  all  that." 

"  Tell  me  what  brought  him  round  ? "  she  said  in  a 
wheedling  voice,  taking  her  hands  from  her  face. 

"  Xot  to-day,"  rcx^lied  Thomas,  who  did  not  quite  trust 


164:  GOD'S  FOOL. 

the  strength  of  nerve  of  his  sister's  conscience.  "  I've  no 
time.  He's  waiting  for  me  in  the  hall.  I  dare  say  he 
heard  you  yell  out  you  were  past  thirty." 

And  with  this  parting  shot  he  retired.  It  was  too  bad 
of  Cornelia  to  get  such  an  idea  into  her  head.  She  would 
take  a  very  dillcrent  view  of  the  matter  in  a  day  or  two, 
when  he  informed  her  of  the  truth.  But,  in  the  meantime, 
she  cut  up  rough. 

"  It's  all  right,"  he  said  to  Lossell,  who  was  anxiously 
pacing  the  narrow  hall.  "  Only  she  thinks  you  don't  know 
about  the  money.  I  had  to  leave  her  that  little  illusion. 
And  so  will  you  have  to.  The  women  can't  do  without  a 
semblance  of  love." 

"  What  a  lucky  thing  it  is  that  they  are  content  with  a 
semblance,"  added  this  young  philosopher,  as  Hendrik  was 
waking  the  cabman.  "  Now  we  men  are  different,  we  either 
want  the  real  thing  or  no  pretence  at  all.  And  we  are 
quite  satisfied  to  do  without  the  semblance  when  the  real 
thing  can't  be  got.  How  awful  it  would  be  if  women  were 
like  that ! " 

Hendrik  did  not  cry  out  against  the  charge  implied  in 
these  words.  Perhaps  he  did  not  hear  it.  He  occupied 
himself  with  poking  his  umbrella  into  the  cabman's  dingy 
cape-protected  sides,  till  the  old  fellow  became  dimly  con- 
scious that  he  was  wanted. 

And  then  they  drove  to  the  Club  and  had  lunch  and  a 
bottle  of  Heidsieck  Monopole.  And  Thomas  told  every- 
body about  Hendrik's  good  fortune,  and  everybody  con- 
gratulated Hendrik,  and  then  went  away  into  the  smoking- 
room,  and  laughed. 

Next  day — on  a  beautiful  afternoon  of  early  frost,  one 
of  those  days  when  all  earth  and  all  heaven  are  in  a  glitter 
of  radiant  cold — Hendrik  Lossell  and  his  Cornelia  walked 
down  arm  in  arm  to  see  the  skating  on  the  "  Koopstad  Ice- 
Club's  "  submerged  field.     Thereby  they  announced  their 


BLANK.  165 

engagement  to  all  the  world's  wife  and  daughters.  No  one 
had  heard  a  whisper  as  yet  of  the  fair  fiancee's  supposed 
accession  to  fortune.  And  somebody  said  that  meeting 
Cornelia  out  with  that  little  boy  at  her  side  reminded  you 
of  that  other  Roman  dame  who  fetched  her  lumps  of  mis- 
chief home  from  school  and  tried  to  pass  them  off  on  her 
friends  as  "  jewels."  Rough  diamonds  they  probably  were. 
And  Hendrik  wrote  to  Hubert,  out  at  Shanghai,  that  he 
was  engaged  to  Cornelia  Alers,  whom  Hubert  would  doubt- 
less remember,  the  girl  with  the  majestic  bearing,  and  that 
he  hoped  that  he — Ilendrik — would  be  as  happy  in  his  mar- 
ried life  as  Hubert  was  witli  the  English  girl  he  had  chosen 
out  yonder,  and  who  had  already  gladdened  his  heart  with 
a  couple  of  children.  Should  he  add  a  word  about  Cornelia 
Aler's  quarter  of  a  million  florins  ?  He  thought  not.  No, 
better  wait  till  next  mail. 

So  they  were  happy.  Cornelia  l^estowed  upon  Hendrik 
the  most  statuesque  of  smiles,  and  Hendrik  brought  to  Cor- 
nelia the  most  costly  of  hothouse  flowers.  He  soon  noticed 
that  she  did  not  care  for  flowers  unless  they  were  costly. 
For  she  said  :  "  Oh,  what  beautiful  roses !  They  are  six- 
pence apiece  at  this  time  of  the  year." 

Hendrik  was  deeply  mortified,  for  they  had  cost  him 
eightpence  halfpenny,  and  he  considered  she  ought  to  have 
known. 

Nevertheless  they  were  happy.  And  the  ladies  of  Koop- 
stad,  having  a  new  subject  for  discussion  and  defamation, 
were  happy  too. 

On  the  third  day  after  the  day  of  the  engagement  Thomas 
started  up  from  the  newspaper  he  was  reading  at  the  Club 
Avith  an  exclamation  of  such  violence  that  Hendrik  dropped 
his  "  Review  of  Finance  "  into  the  grate. 

"  Hush,"  he  said,  turning  round  in  alarm.  "  They  will 
hear  you  over  there.     What's  the  matter  ?  " 


166  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Let  tliem  hear  ! "  cried  Alers  hoarsely.  He  ran  to  the 
central  table  and  rummaged  with  nervous  hand  among  the 
chaos  of  newspapers  scattered  tliere.  "  Help  me  to  find  an- 
otlier  list  of  the  Vienna  prizes,  Lossell.  Help  me  quick. 
The  Amsterdam  Gazette  or  something!  Good  heavens, 
supposing  there  was  to  be  some  mistake," 

Lossell  needed  no  second  injunction.  "How  do  you 
mean  '  wrong  '  ?  "  he  asked  in  a  whisper,  as  he  joined  his 
friend  in  the  search. 

He  got  no  answer.  The  advocate  hurriedly  snatched  at 
a  journal  and  tore  it  open — with  a  great  screech  of  rent 
paper — casting  agitated  glances  down  its  columns.  "  Merci- 
ful Heaven,  it  is  true ! "  he  murmured,  in  a  long-drawn 
gasp.  The  paper  fell  from  his  hand.  Hendrik  Lossell 
stood  opposite  him  white  and  uncertain.  "  Come  away, 
Hendrik,"  said  Alers  gently,  after  that  first  moment  of 
paralysis,  "  I  must  sj^eak  to  you.  No,  not  here.  Let  us  go 
home." 

They  paused  for  a  few  seconds  outside  the  Club-entrance, 
under  the  full  light  of  the  lamp.  "  What  next  ?  "  asked 
Lossell. 

Alers  seemed  completely  to  have  lost  his  ordinary  cool 
alertness.  "  Not  in  the  open  street,"  he  said  dazedly.  "  Let 
us  take  a  cab  again,  like,  like  that  other  time."  And  they 
got  into  one. 

"  Where  to  ?  "  said  Lossell,  his  hand  on  the  door. 

"  Oh,  anywhere,"  replied  the  other.  Lossell  gave  Alers's 
address. 

"  Henk,"  began  Alers,  as  they  were  driving  through  the 
lighted  streets,  "  I  may  as  well  tell  you  at  once.  The  num- 
ber announced  in  the  papers  is  not  the  number  our  bankers 
have  sent  me.  There's  some  mistake.  And  I  hope  it's  the 
papers  have  made  it." 

"  Oh,  the  lists  in  the  papers  are  always  inaccurate,"  said 
Hendrik,  much  flurried.  "  Mistakes  almost  constantly 
occur." 


BLANK.  167 

"  Yes,  but  tlie  two  papers  agree,"  remarked  Thomas, 
shaking  his  head. 

"  That  proves  nothing.  This  information  emanates 
from  the  same  source.  Let  us  drive  to  some  money  agents 
and  inquire.  What  is  the  number  you  have  ?  Do  you 
know  ?  " 

"  Do  I  know  ?  "  repeated  Thomas.  "  I  should  think  so. 
No.  37,  Series  2419.  But  it's  no  use  going  to  a  banker's  at 
this  hour." 

"  Then  let's  telegrajjli  to  Amsterdam  so  as  to  get  an  an- 
swer first  thing  to-morrow." 

"  We  can  do  that,  if  you  like.  It's  not  much  use,  but  we 
can  do  it.  My  dear  Hendrik,  how  I  hope  this  is  a  false 
alarm.     What  a  disappointment  it  would  be  for — her." 

"  And  what  is  the  number  in  the  newspapers  ?  "  asked 
Hendrik  testily. 

"  The  series  is  the  same,  2419.  But  the  lot  is  39  instead 
of  37." 

"The  bankers  are  sure  to  know  best,"  said  Hendrik 
with  an  assurance  he  was  far  from  feeling.  They  drove  to 
the  telegraph-office,  and  Thomas  telegraphed.  And  then 
they  parted,  not  so  cordially  as  three  days  ago.  "  He's  left 
me  to  pay  the  cab  this  time,"  said  Thomas  to  himself,  as  he 
drove  off  alone  in  the  direction  of  home.  "  Well,  I  suppose 
it's  worth  a  cab  fare.  It's  a  miserable  business.  I  should 
never  have  considered  myself  justified  in  doing  it,  if  neces- 
sity hadn't  squeezed  our  throats  so  tight." 

Hendrik  Lossell  went  home  and  had  a  bad  night  of  it, 
the  worst  he  ever  spent  in  his  life.  During  the  whole  of 
his  later  reckless  career,  when  far  larger  sums  hung  in  the 
balance,  he  never  experienced  such  a  horror  of  anxiety 
again.  We  get  accustomed  to  the  presence  of  anxiety,  if 
only  it  will  take  a  consistent  form. 

As  the  slow  hours  waited  on  each  other,  he  tossed  to  and 
fro  upon  his  bed.     Endless  rows  of  figures  danced  up  and 


168  GOD'S  FOOL. 

down  before  his  eyes.  The  room  was  hot,  he  thought,  in 
spite  of  the  dying  fire  and  the  occasional  crack  of  the  frost 
outside.  The  room  was  stifling.  He  threw  off  the  bed- 
clothes, and  shivered  with  cold. 

And  the  next  morning  Thomas  Alers  came  to  him,  be- 
fore he  had  left  for  the  office.  He  was  sitting  at  his  lonely 
breakfast  in  the  great  dull  dining-room  where  Elias  had 
first  been  stricken  with  blindness.  Thomas  brought  a  tele- 
gram Avith  him.  And  the  telegram  contained  only  these 
words : 

"  Series  2,419.     No.  39." 

The  first  thing  which  Hendrik  noticed  was  that  Thomas 
had  cut  off  the  signature. 

He  fell  back  in  his  chair  without  a  word  of  complaint, 
and  sat  stupidly  staring  in  front  of  him. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry,  old  man,"  began  Thomas  Alers. 
*'  But  there's  no  one  to  blame  except  the  bankers.  We 
shall  leave  them  at  once,  of  course,  and  take  some  other 
firm.  They  have  always  kept  the  list  of  our  lottery  tickets 
and  shares,  and  they  sent  me  a  memorandum  as  I  told  you, 
to  the  effect  that  No.  37  was  out  with  the  prize." 

"  I  don't  believe,"  said  Hendrik  huskily,  "  that  any  firm 
in  Christendom  would  make  such  a  mistake  as  that." 

"  No  firm  in  Jewry  would,"  replied  Alers  with  an  ugly 
laugh.  "  Nonsense,  Henk,  you  don't  mean  to  insinuate 
that  I'm  telling  you  lies  ?  I'll  show  you  the  memorandum 
if  you  like." 

"  What  is  the  name  of  the  firm  ?  "  asked  Hendrik,  with 
a  certain  amount  of  menace  in  his  tone. 

"  I  told  you  last  night  when  we  telegraphed  that  I  could 
not,  in  all  honor,  betray  them.  It  would  ruin  them,  if  the 
thing  were  to  get  known." 

"  Nevertheless,"  said  Hendrik,  "  I,  and  I  only,  have  a 
right  to  know  it." 

"  You  have  not.  You  will  see  the  memorandum,  with 
the  name  cut  out,  and  that  must  suffice.     Lossell,  you  are 


BLANK.  169 

most  insulting.  I  should  not  permit  you  to  doubt  my  word 
in  this  manner,  if  I  did  not  take  the  vexation  of  the  mo- 
ment into  account.  I  can  understand  your  disappointment, 
but  its  expression  must  remain  within  bounds."  And  lanky 
young  Alers  blustered  and  tried  to  look  broad. 

Hendrik  Lossell  was  not  a  passionate  man.  Or  rather, 
the  quiet  fury  of  his  passion  burned  white  and  flameless, 
unnoticed  by  all  except  by  him  whose  heart  it  consumed. 

"  Sit  down,"  he  said  calmly,  "  and  let  us  talk."  There 
was  an  intensity  of  purpose  in  his  quiet  gesture  which 
caused  the  other  to  sneak  into  the  corner  of  a  big  black 
sofa. 

"  Look  here,  Alers,"  said  Hendrik.  "  You  have  fooled 
me.  There's  no  denying  it.  You  played  the  part  very 
well  till  now,  but  this  final  scene  is  too  difficult,  even  for  so 
good  an  actor  as  you  are.  Don't  Jabber  at  me  ;  it's  useless. 
The  whole  thing  was  got  up ;  I  can  see  that.  I  don't  be- 
lieve your  story  about  the  Amsterdam  bankers.  I'm  not  a 
child." 

"  Now  really,  Lossell — " 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  or  admit  the  truth.  I  see  through 
the  whole  farce,  I  tell  you.  And  I  consider  myself  free, 
accordingly,  as  regards  Mejuffrouw  Alers." 

"  You  mean  to  say  that  you  break  it  off  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  have  been  scandalously  duped,  and  I  refuse  to 
submit  to  that." 

"  In  other  words,"  cried  Alers,  rising  to  the  occasion, 
"you  confess  to  having  asked  my  sister  for  her  money 
alone?" 

"  Xot  that.  But  I  confess  to  not  having  perceived  that 
I  was  being  snared  like  a  bird." 

Alers  got  up  out  of  his  corner.  "  "We  shall  see,"  he  said, 
threatening  in  his  turn,  "  what  Koopstad  society  will  say 
when  you  tell  it  your  story.  The  moment  after  I  had  com- 
municated to  you  what  I  believed  to  be  my  sister's  good 
fortune,  you  propose  to  her,  after  having  implored  me  not 


ITO  GOD'S  FOOL. 

to  divulge  my  secret  to  any  one.  She  is  half  a  dozen  years 
older  than  you.  And  as  soon  as  I  tell  you  there's  a  mis- 
take about  the  money,  you  want  to  retract.  Do,  if  you 
dare,"  he  cried,  blazing  out,  "  and  stop  in  Koopstad,  if  you 
can." 

"  She  said  she  was  twenty-nine ! "  cried  the  wretched 
bridegroom. 

"  Well,  I  won't  contradict  her.  She  has  said  it  so  long, 
that  she  ought  to  be  sure  about  it.  And  where  is  your  fine 
talk  about  the  delicacy  of  your  position,  and  your  wishing 
you  had  never  known  of  the  lottery-prize  ?  Enough.  Gam- 
mon.    You  saw  I  didn't  believe  it  at  the  time." 

"  I  won't  marry  her,"  persisted  Ilendrik,  reddening.  "  I 
don't  care  about  Koopstad.  It's  quite  true  tliat  I  had  liked 
her  before  all  this  business,  but  I  won't  marry  a  woman  who 
could  play  a  fellow  such  a  mean  trick  as  this." 

"  Is  that  your  only  diflEiculty  ?  "  asked  Alers. 

"  No,  but  it  is  the  chief  one.  I  have  always  liked  Cor- 
nelia.    She  is  imposing,  and  I,  for  one,  consider  her  hand- 


some." 


"  Well,  if  it's  any  comfort  to  you,  I  can  swear  you  my 
most  solemn  oath,  she's  as  innocent  as — as  a  new-laid  egg. 
She  knows  of  nothing.  Convince  yourself.  When  I  went 
in  to  her,  I  did  not  tell  her  about  the  money.  The  trick, 
such  as  it  is — but  there  is  no  trick — was  mine." 

Lossell  went  close  up  to  his  antagonist,  his  clenched 
fists  held  down  tight  by  his  sides. 

"  Blackguard  !  "  he  said. 

"  You  are  as  disagreeable  as  you  are  foolish,  Lossell.  It 
is  you  who  outwitted  me  when  you  told  me  you  loved  my 
sister  without  this  money.  You  have  treated  us  disgrace- 
fully. And  I  undertake  that,  if  you  now  leave  Cornelia  in 
the  lurch,  this  good  and  upright  little  world  of  Koopstad 
will  spue  you  out  as  you  deserve." 

"  I  have  always  liked  her,"  said  Hendrik,  "  fairly  well. 
But  I  won't  marry  her  now." 


BLANK.  lYl 

And  so  Hendrik  Lossell  married  the  fair  Cornelia.  And 
the  whole  of  Koopstad  flowed  to  the  church  "  to  assist "  at 
the  ceremony.  It  is  said,  when  it  came  out,  that  the 
preaclier  had  been  extremely  edifying,  and  the  only  thing  it 
did  not  understand  and  consequently  would  like  to  inquire 
about  was  why  the  bridegroom  had  taken  the  bride.  The 
bride  asked  herself  the  same  question.  The  bridegroom  did 
not  ask  it,  but  he  grumbled  considerably  over  the  answer. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

COUSINS    AND    COZENAGE. 

He  resolved,  however,  to  make  the  best  of  it.  And  he 
did. 

It  was  true,  as  he  had  admitted  to  Alers,  that  he  had  long 
felt  a  sneaking  liking  for  Coi'nelia.  "  She  was  a  woman  of 
sense,"  he  always  said,  "  a  woman  whom  you  could  speak 
with.  A  rare  thing.  For  most  women  you  can  only  speak 
to,  and  look  at."  "  Well,  that's  one  comfort,"  Hubert  had 
answered — but  that  was  several  years  ago,  "  for  there's  not 
much  to  look  at  in  Keetje  Alers."  Hubert  must  have  been 
speaking  qualitatively.  Quantitatively  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  Cornelia. 

Yes,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  her,  and  what  there  was 
belonged  to  that  substantial  sort  of  female  architecture 
which  does  not  do  for  sweet  seventeen,  but  often  develops 
wonderfully  into  a  dignified  matron  at  the  head  of  her 
dinner-table.  "  She'll  M^ear  best  of  them  all,  will  Cornelia," 
Thomas  would  say  in  reviewing  his  sisters.  He  was  very 
vulgar  and  coarse  ;  I  don't  deny  it,  but  he  saw  without  spec- 
tacles the  things  he  wanted  to  see. 

Cornelia,  having  climbed,  with  a  lift  from  her  brother, 
into  the  lap  of  Hendrik  Lossell  and  Koopstad  society, 
settled  down  majestically  among  what  she  called  the  duties 
of  her  position.  She  found  herself  surrounded  by  an  army 
of  newly  acquired  cousins  who  could  not  remember  that  her 
mother  had  been  their  cousin  before.  And  although  she 
did  all  she  could  to  cure  their  defective  memories  by  fre- 


COUSINS  AND  COZENAGE.  IY3 

quent  injections  of  facts,  she  found  that  the  failing  was  con- 
stitutional. In  fact,  it  was  hereditary.  "  She  is  trying  to 
cozen  us,"  said  a  connection  of  Hendrik's,  who  was  a  wit 
and  a  ne'er-do-well.  But  she  clung  to  her  theory  that  pa- 
tience would  bring  them  round.  "  If  you  want  to  play 
your  cards  well  in  this  world,  you  must  choose  the  game  of 
patience,"  she  said  to  Hendrik  Lossell,  one  day,  as  they  were 
driving  home  from  a  house  where  they  had  been  un- 
graciously received.  Little  Hendrik  gallantly  pressed  a  kiss 
on  his  consort's  substantial  arm.  "  You  are  as  witty  as  you 
are  clever,"  he  said.  The  Dutch  word  which  he  used  for 
"  clever  "  is  an  ambiguous  one ;  it  may  mean  "  good-look- 
ing "  and  it  may  mean  "  well-brained  "  ;  the  English  word 
"  smart  "  may  serve  as  an  example  of  somewhat  similar  lati- 
tude. Those  old  Dutchmen  were  wonderfully  shrewd  old 
fellows.  They  understood  how  to  preserve  in  close  contigu- 
ity the  two  forms  of  peace  most  dear  to  their  repose-loving 
natures,  the  peace  of  the  heart  and  the  peace  of  the  hearth. 
And,  having  made  the  time-honoured  discovery,  which  all 
men  make  and  which  each  man  must  make  for  himself,  viz., 
the  discovery,  that,  by  some  strange  perversity,  most  pretty 
women  are  stupid  and  most  clever  women  ugly,  they  thought  ^ 
out  this  subtle  combination  which  satisfied  both  their  own 
consciences  and  the  vanity  of  their  wives.  "  How '  cunning  ' 
you  look  !  "  they  would  say,  and  their  children  say  it  still. 
And  the  frightfullest  hag  in  the  eleven  provinces  casts  an 
approving  look  towards  the  glass. 

The  invention  is  not  patented.  And  the  discoverer  of 
the  secret  makes  no  charge  for  divulging  it.  He  generously 
offers  it  to  all  other  nations.  He  makes  them  a  present  of 
the  word.  It  is  "  Knap."  Introduced  into  the  various 
languages  of  Christendom  (let  us  begin  with  petticoat- 
governed  Christendom),  it  will  do  more  towards  bringing 
about  universal  harmony  than  the  whole  of  Volapiik. 

"  How  '  knap  '  you  look  !  "  said  Hendrik  Lossell.  But 
on  his  lips  the  word  may  have  been  a  recognition  of  the 


174  GOD'S  FOOL. 

majesty  of  the  Eoman  nose — no  one  can  say.  The  coldness 
of  his  relatives — tliey  were  mostly  his  mother's  people — 
was  fast  warming  his  heart  into  a  blaze  of  affection  for 
Cornelia.  After  all,  she  could  not  be  held  responsible  for 
her  brother's  treachery.  lie  had  convinced  himself  that 
she  was  innocent  of  all  complicity.  He  was  furious  with 
the  advocate  only,  but  the  advocate,  when  he  found  the 
couple  "  billing  and  cooing,"  as  he  phrased  it,  declared  he 
would  set  up  a  matrimonial  agency.  He  was  born  a  match- 
maker, he  said  to  Cornelia. 

"  A  match-seller,"  replied  that  amiable  damsel. 

Matron.  No  offence  was  intended.  None  will  be  given. 
She  is  still  alive,  but  she  won't  read  this  story.  She  never 
reads  novels.  She  has  grown  religious  of  late.  At  least,  so 
she  says. 

Mevrouw  Lossell  clung  for  many  months  to  the  idea  of 
conciliating  her  husband's  relations.  She  only  gave  it  up 
after  a  passage  of  arms  with  that  same  good-natured  old 
aunt  of  his  who  had  advised  him  to  fly  to  the  protection  of 
her  skirts. 

"  My  cousin  van  Driel  was  like  that,"  this  old  lady  was 
remarking  one  day  over  the  teacups.  "  She  was  so  terribly 
frightened  of  fire  that  she  used  always  to  have  a  rope-ladder 
hanging  ready  from  her  bedroom  window.  And  a  man 
climbed  up  one  night,  as  we  had  always  told  her  would 
happen,  and  took  away  all  the  silver  from  under  her  bed. 
My  cousin.  Miss  Matilda  van  Driel,  that  was.  I  fancy  you 
can  hardly  have  known  her." 

"  She  was  a  cousin  of  my  mother's.  Aunt  Theresa,"  re- 
plied Mevrouw  Lossell.  "  Don't  you  remember  I  told  you 
so  the  other  day,  when  we  were  speaking  of  '  Beechy 
Place  '  where  she  lived  ?  And  I  knew  about  the  ladder.  I 
have  heard  the  story  ever  since  I  was  a  little  girl.  And  I 
remember  the  robber  left  some  of  the  plate  behind.  Peo- 
ple used  to  say  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  Miss  Matilda 
without  her  front,  and  it  gave  him  such  a  turn,  that  he  fled." 


COUSINS  AND  COZENAGE.  175 

"  Indeed  ?"  said  the  old  lady.  "Will  you  take  another 
cup  of  tea,  my  dear?  I  never  heard  that  part  of  the  story, 
and  I  should  hardly  think  it  was  very  likely,  because  my 
cousin  Matilda  never  wore  a  front,  you  know.  She  had  ex- 
ceedingly ugly  curls,  but  they  were  her  own.  And  were 
you  ever  inside  '  Beechy  Place,'  my  dear  ?  " 

"No,"  replied  Cornelia.  "My  mother  did  not  visit 
there  in  later  life." 

"  Indeed  ?  Ah  well,  then,  you  never  saw  the  sitting-room 
of  my  cousin  Geertruida.  My  cousin  Geertruida  had  an 
idea  that  all  colours  but  green  were  injurious  for  the  eyes. 
So  she  had  her  sitting-room  papered  and  curtained  and 
carpeted  in  green,  and  she  wore  a  green  dress  and  had  green 
chair-coverings  and,  worst  of  all,  the  glass  of  the  windows 
was  green.  It  was  very  peculiar.  Was  she  a  cousin  of 
your  mother's  also,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  Why,  naturally,"  replied  Cornelia,  somewhat  taken 
aback.  "  She  was  a  sister  of — of  Matilda's,  so  she  must 
have  been." 

"  Yes,  she  was  a  sister,  as  you  say.  And  there  was  a 
third  sister,  Theodora.  Theodora  would  never  on  any  pre- 
text enter  Geertruida's  sitting-room,  for  she  had  a  dreadful 
blotchy  complexion,  and  the  green  things  made  her  look  a 
fright.  Theodora  did  not  appear  handsome  in  any  one's 
sitting-room.  She  was  decidedly  plain.  Did  you  ever  see 
my  cousin  Theodora  van  Driel  ?  " 

"  No,"  stuttered  Cornelia,  "  not  that  I  remember,  aunt." 

"  And  she  also  was  a  cousin  of  your  mother's,  my  dear  ?  " 

Then  Cornelia  understood  how  it  is  that  the  well-bred 
horses  of  Koopstad  refuse  to  turn  their  noses  towards  the 
shabby-genteel  parts  of  the  town.  And  she  gave  up  trying 
to  pierce  loopholes  through  those  blind  walls  of  memory. 
She  realized  that  family  minds,  like  family  mansions,  ar- 
range their  windows  so  as  to  open  on  their  own  small  court 
alone.  And  she  went  home,  and  on  a  small  scrap  of  paper 
she  wrote  the  following  words  : 


176  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Rank  discourtesy — The  discourtesy  of  rank,"  and  she 
sent  them  in — anonymously — to  the  Koopstad  "  Weekly 
Fun."     But  the  "  Weekly  Fun  "  did  not  insert  them. 

So  you  see  that,  having  grasped  her  fruit,  she  found  it  to 
be  an  apple  of  Sodom.  But  she  was  not  the  woman  to  be 
daunted  by  feline  amenities.  She  resolved  at  once  to  force 
her  way  forward  where  the  pleasanter  method  of  slip2)ing  in 
had  been  denied  her,  and  she  could  not  long  hesitate — in 
Koopstad — as  to  the  means  to  be  employed. 

"  Cornelia,"  she  said  to  herself  before  her  looking-glass, 
a  day  or  two  after  the  tea-drinking  with  Hendrik's  aunt, 
"  these  people  remember  each  other  because  they  can  boast 
of  each  other.  And  as  soon  as  their  connection  with  you 
affords  matter  for  boasting,  they  will  also  remember  how 
closely  connected  we  are.  All  you  have  got  to  do,  is  to  have 
better  things,  or  at  any  rate  finer  things  than  they  have, 
and  they  will  recall  the  relationship.  They  will  hate  you, 
but  that  they  do  already.  And  even  if  they  declaim  against 
your  extravagance  to  others,  they  will  add  :  '  She  is  my 
cousin,  you  know.' " 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  she  was  saying  a  couple  of  hours  later 
to  a  daughter  of  our  old  friend  the  Cocoa-lady,  now  married 
in  her  turn  to  a  sugar-planter,  "  I  thought  your  little  enter- 
tainment very  nice — very  nice.  And  it  Avas  good  of  you  to 
ask  us  " — this  very  humbly,  with  downcast  eyes — "  I  am 
thinking  of  giving  a  small  dinner  myself,  you  know.  Oh, 
quite  a  small  affair,  as  we  have  been  married  so  short  a  time. 
Only  twelve  people  to  begin  with.  You  had  eighteen,  had 
you  not  ?  No,  I  shall  only  ask  twelve,  and  we  must  be  very 
select.  And  I  shall  have  all  my  flowers  over  from  Nice ; 
you  can't  get  good  flowers  here  at  this  time  of  the  year." 

"  But  won't  that  be  very  expensive  ?  "  suggested  the 
sugar-planter's  wife. 

"  If  you  want  things  first-rate,  you  must  pay  first-rate 
prices,  of  course,"  replied  Cornelia,  with  dignified  non- 
chalance, "  but  I  agree  with  liendrik  that  it's  much  better 


COUSINS  AND  COZENAGE.  177 

to  leave  these  things  undone,  if  you  can't  do  them  well. 
Nobody  can  abuse  you  for  not  asking  them  to  dinner,  if  you 
don't  entertain,  but  they  can  abuse  you  for  inviting  them 
and  then  making  them  sit  down  to  sweet  champagne." 

"  I  prefer  champagne  to  be  sweet,"  said  the  other  lady, 
reddening  as  she  recalled  last  Thursday's  Moet  and 
Chandon. 

"  I  don't,"  said  Cornelia  coolly,  "  but  that  is,  perhaps,  a 
matter  of  taste  as  well  as  of  price.  Well,  1  shall  see  about 
my  dinner-party.  I  must  arrange  the  invitations  with  Hen- 
drik,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  squeeze  in  a  vacancy  for 
you,  as  you  were  so  kind  as  to  ask  us  the  other  day.  It  was 
so  sweet  of  you,  my  dear.  And  it  was  really  quite  a  nice 
little  entertainment,  really  quite  pretty  and  nice." 

"  We  shall  none  of  us  go  to  your  party,  so  you  needn't 
ask  us,"  muttered  the  sugar-planter's  wife,  as  soon  as  she 
was  out  in  the  street.  But  when  ultimately  the  dinner  was 
served,  all  the  guests  sat  down  to  it.  The  sugar-planter's 
wife  was  not  there.  She  had  not  been  asked.  But  she  had 
been  promised  an  invitation  to  a  more  promiscuous  gather- 
ing, when  the  flowers  would  again  come  from  the  Riviera. 
There  were  to  be  a  good  many  gaieties  in  the  dull  old 
house. 

"  My  cousin  Lossell  is  going  to  give  a  dinner-party,"  said 
the  sugar-planter's  wife  to  the  next  lady  she  called  on. 
"  Quite  a  small  affair.  Only  twelve  people.  But  very  select. 
She  is  going  to  have  over  a  quantity  of  roses  from  Nice  for 
the  occasion.  Heaven  knows  what  it  will  cost.  Yes,  she  is 
very  extravagant,  undoubtedly,  but  that  is  her  business,  not 
mine.  And  Hendrik  Lossell  has  plenty  of  money,  you  know, 
though  not  as  much  as  my  cousin  Elias.  She  has  promised 
me  an  invitation,  and  I  am  curious  to  see  what  a  dinner  at 
the  old  house  will  be  like  under  the  new  regime.  A  very 
brilliant  affair,  I  fancy.  Yes,  she  is  a  cousin  of  mine.  No, 
not  only  through  the  Lossells.     Her  mother  was  a  van  Pur- 


178  GOD'S  POOL. 

mer.  Before  her  marriage,  she  must  have  been  a  distant 
connection  of  ours." 

And  then  she  went  on  to  her  mother's,  the  Cocoa-dame's, 
and  there  the  two  abused  Cornelia  untiringly  during  five 
quarters  of  an  hour.  But  they  were  alone,  and  they  closed 
the  doors.  They  felt  that  in  future  it  would  be  a  necessity 
of  existence  to  lay  bare  all  the  faults  of  the  intruder,  but 
they  also  felt  that  they  would  do  well  to  curtain  their  society 
windows  before  the  vivisection  began. 

Cornelia  was  going  to  be  a  power  in  Koopstad.  She  was 
going  to  spend  more  money  than  other  people.  And  the 
good  city  did  homage  in  the  first  place  to  those  who  were 
known  to  have  money,  whether  they  spent  it  or  not,  and  in 
the  second  to  those  who  were  known  to  spend  money,  even 
though  it  might  be  hinted  that  they  did  not  possess  it.  And, 
then,  there  was  always  the  vast  wealth  of  Elias  in  the  back- 
ground. His  step-brothers  were  his  heirs.  Unless  he 
married. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE   BEIDE    ASKS   FOR   FLOWERS   ON   HER    PATH. 

"  Hendrik,"  said  Cornelia  that  evening  after  dinner, 
"  I  have  been  thinking  that  it  is  quite  time  we  began  re- 
turninsr  the  civilities  which  have  been  shown  us  on  our 
marriage  and  afterwards, 

Hendrik  was  lying  back  in  his  easy  chair,  resting  after 
the  day's  work  at  the  office.  He  was  enjoying  the  cosiness 
of  the  warm,  well-lighted  library— his  father's  room— and 
the  excellence  of  his  cigar- also  one  of  his  father's.  The 
unique  enjoyment  which  Hendrik  Senior  had  allowed  him- 
self had  been  genuine  Havannahs.  And  his  sons  had  not 
understood  till  after  his  death  what  their  father  might  mean 
by  the  reiterated  saying  that  a  man  could  not  be  altogether 
unhappy,  as  long  as  he  still  had  a  perfect  cigar. 

Hendrik  Junior  did  not  possess  his  father's  talent  for 
smoking,  but  he  liked  good  tMngs  generally.  He  lay  lazily 
stretched  out  in  the  big  arm-chair,  his  little  body  lost  against 
the  dull  time-stained  leather,  his  little  feet  in  their  glazed 
shoes  and  red-striped  socks  forming  a  bright  speck  on  the 
hearth-rug.  He  was  not  so  diminutive,  really,  when  you 
came  to  measure  him,  but  the  whole  of  the  man  was  so  thin 
and  slight,  so  puny  in  face  and  feature,  that  you  could  not 
think  of  him  otherwise,  if  you  once  had  noticed  his  head 
and  hands,  than  as  little  Hendrik  Lossell. 

He  did  not  think  of  himself  as  little  Hendrik  Lossell. 

He  was  proud  of  his  hands,  on  account  of  their  small- 
ness,  and  he  was  proud  of  his  feet  for  the  same  reason.     He 


180  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sat  eyeing  them  at  this  very  moment,  as  he  rested  by  the 
fire,  with  placid  content.  He  was  dwelling  gently — in  a 
pleasant  after-dinner  simmer — on  his  social  importance  and 
his  personal  attractions.  He  was  a  man  of  very  great  stand- 
ing and  of  very  small  feet. 

He  was  far  more  comfortable,  of  course,  in  a  multiplic- 
ity of  ways,  since  Cornelia  had  taken  the  direction  of  his 
bachelor  household.  He  would  have  been  so,  whoever  had 
succeeded  to  his  mother's  too-long  deserted  place.  But 
Cornelia,  schooled  in  the  school  of  much  demand  and  but 
little  supply,  was  an  excellent  housekeeper,  quite  capable  of 
gladdening  her  husband's  heart  with  abundance  of  comfort 
and  good  cheer.  Economical,  however,  she  was  no  longer, 
whatever  she  might  once  have  been.  It  could  have  been 
foreseen  that  the  change  in  her  circumstances  must  develop 
either  increasing  parsimony  or  extravagance.  She  "went 
for "  extravagance.  Her  "  house-money "  sufficed  amply 
for  her  wants,  as  long  as  the  tradesmen  sent  in  no  bills. 
Hendrik  Lossell  was  delighted  to  see  how  much  an  expe- 
rienced housewife  could  do  for  comparatively  little. 

"  It  all  comes  of  method,"  he  declaimed.  "  You  can  do 
what  you  like  if  only  you  know  how  to  do  it.  Ah,  poverty 
is  the  grandest  of  schools,  and  the  greatest  of  usurers.  They 
say  rich  men  get  usury  from  their  money.  It's  the  poor 
that  do  that." 

Cornelia  said  it  was  very  true.  And  she  considered 
they  must  now  acknowledge  such  kindness  as  they  had  re- 
ceived. 

"  We  sent  cards  around,"  replied  Hendrik,  alluding  to  a 
custom  of  his  nation.  "  And  we  '  thanked  '  in  the  papers 
as  well.  What  more  would  you  have  ?  I'm  sure  I've  dis- 
burdened myself  of  all  the  gratitude  I  ever  felt." 

"  You  know  very  well  I  don't  mean  that,  Hendrik,"  said 
Cornelia  severely.  "  Everybody  sends  round  bits  of  paste- 
board to  everybody  else.  It  would  be  a  blessing  if  the  whole 
thing  were  abolished." 


THE   BRIDE  ASKS  FOR  FLOWERS.  181 

"  Have  you  got  tired  already  of  seeing  '  Mevrouw  Los- 
sell  '  in  print  ? "  interrujoted  Hendrik  Avith  a  tender  glance 
at  his  larger  half.  "  You  were  pleased  enough  with  the 
little  bits  of  pasteboard  when  I  brought  you  them  a  few 
weeks  ago." 

"How  silly  you  are,  Henk,"  she  answered  kindly.  She 
drew  a  chair  close  up  to  his  and  sat  down  by  his  side.  She 
had  too  much  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things  to  risk  making 
herself  ridiculous  by  flopping  down  on  the  rug  at  his  feet. 

"  I  like  the  bits  of  pasteboard  as  much  as  ever,"  she  said, 
"  but  there  are  other  cards  I  stand  more  in  need  of  just 
now.  Cards  of  invitation,  my  dear  Henk.  "VVe  must  begin 
to  think  of  giving  our  first  dinner-party." 

How  she  enjoyed  the  last  words, "  Our  first  dinner-party ! " 
I  believe  there  is  only  one  other  sentence,  equally  short, 
which  contains  as  much  condensed  happiness  and  disap- 
pointment in  a  worldly  woman's  life.  "  My  first  ball-dress  ! " 
Poor  things,  that  is  all.  All,  between  God's  Heaven  above 
them  and  the  shroud  and  banquet  of  worms  below. 

"  Oh,  come,  not  this  year,"  expostulated  Hendrik,  sitting 
up — a  hideous  vision  rose  before  his  eyes  of  the  Burgomas- 
ter's wife  in  her  crimson  satin,  and  the  brooch  with  her 
grandfather's  hair,  established  in  the  place  of  honour  for  an 
hour  and  a  half,  complaining  that  the  room  was  too  hot  or 
too  draughty.  "  Oh  come,  Cornelia,  nobody  will  expect  us 
to  entertain  already.  AVhy,  we're  supposed  to  be  still  far 
too  fond  of  each  other,  my  dear,  to  want  anybody  else  but 
ourselves." 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  and  stroked  his  wife's,  which 
lay  in  her  lap.  He  had  a  theory  that  you  could  do  what 
you  liked  with  a  woman  if  you  were  kind  to  her.  More 
men  have  that  theory.  It  all  depends  upon  their  getting 
the  right  sort  of  woman.  If  they  do — oh,  when  they  do  ! — 
their  fate  is  sealed. 

"  Certainly,"  said  Cornelia,  gently  pushing  the  hand 
away.     "That  is  quite  true,  Hendrik,  and  all  very  well. 


182  GOD'S  FOOL. 

But,  nevertheless,  when  yovi  dine  with  other  people,  you 
must  ask  them  back  again.  Most  undoubtedly,  you  must 
ask  them  back  again." 

"  Of  course,"  persisted  Ilcndrik,  "  but  not  the  first  year, 
Corry." 

Have  you  ever  noticed  that  when  two  people  keep  up  a 
conversation  in  "exactly"  and  "undoubtedly"  and  "of 
course,"  they  are  always  in  utter  contradiction  and  disagree- 
ment? Such  words  are  a  kind  of  jumping-board,  on  which 
you  alight  before  you  leap  away. 

Cornelia  withdrew  her  hand  altogether  and  looked  at 
her  husband.  "  My  dear  boy,"  she  said,  "  you  must  allow 
women  to  be  judges  of  these  matters  of  etiquette.  You  talk 
as  if  it  were  a  pleasure  for  me  to  take  upon  me  all  the 
burden  and  the  responsibility  of  this  dinner.  Do  you  really 
think  a  woman  likes  to  get  one  ready  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hendrik  boldly." 

"  You  know  little  of  the  worry  it  entails,  then.  To  hear 
you,  Hendrik,  one  would  think  you  had  always  lived  among 
the  flightiest  of  females.  Was  your  mother  so  fond  of  see- 
ing company  ?  " 

Hendrik  might  have  forced  the  truth  a  little  for  the 
sake  of  argument  and  said :  "  Yes,"  but  he  could  not  very 
well  class  his  dead  mother  among  "  the  flightiest  of  females," 
so  he  muttered :  "  No,"  and  shook  the  ashes  off  his  cigar. 

"  There,  you  see ! "  exclaimed  his  wife  triumphantly. 
"  You  men  always  have  your  uniform  little  set  of  cut  and 
dried  axioms  about  women,  without  any  regard  for  what 
you  could  see  for  yourselves.  It's  a  little  catechism  you 
learn  in  the  novels.  If  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  look 
for  yourself,  Henk,  I  will  teach  you  what  a  true  woman  is 
like." 

And  so,  having  given  him  clearly  to  understand  that  it 
was  not  pleasure  but  duty  she  was  in  search  of,  Cornelia  set 
herself  to  convince  her  lord  and  master  how  wrong  it  is  to 
shirk  duty  for  the  sake  of  repose. 


THE  BRIDE  ASKS  FOR  FLOWERS.  183 

"  Let  us  have  them,"  acquiesced  Hendrik  at  last,  with  a 
sigh  of  resignation,  "  but  you  need  not  take  upon  yourself 
all  that  bother  you  are  afraid  of.  You  have  only  to  ask 
Mulder  to  arrange  everything  as  it  used  to  be.  He  knows 
all  about  how  my  mother  used  to  order  things.  Her  din- 
ners were  a  great  success,  I  believe." 

Mulder  was  the  family  butler,  who  had  ruled  the  base- 
ment for  a  great  many  years.  Cornelia  had  retained  him, 
as  was  almost  inevitable,  on  condition  that  all  the  maid- 
servants should  go.  But  the  idea  that  he  might  superintend 
her  domestic  arrangements  was  anything  but  pleasing  to 
the  strong-willed  lady, 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said  sharply,  showing  offence  for  the 
first  time  that  evening.  "  Such  things  can  hardly  be  left  to 
servants,  I  should  say.  And  you  must  allow  me  to  manage 
matters  in  my  own  way,  though  I  have  every  respect  for 
your  mother's.  Fashions  change  so  much,  Hendrik,  as  you 
know.     If  the  thing  is  done  at  all,  it  must  be  done  well." 

''  Ye — es,"  hesitated  Hendrik.  "  You  might  have  a 
dish  or  two  from  the  pastrycook's." 

Cornelia  ignored  this  hint.  As  if  she  were  going  to 
trust  her  untried  domestic !  She  would  have  a  man-cook 
in  upon  whom  she  could  entirely  rely.  But  you  must  never 
harass  your  husband  with  trifles  when  these  are  only  pre- 
liminaries. It's  no  use  first  tickling  a  man  you  are  intend- 
ing to  stab. 

"  It  will  be  best  to  order  the  flowers  from  Nice,"  said 
Cornelia,  "as  the  Leeflands  had  done  the  other  day.  Only, 
if  we  do  order  them,  we  may  as  well  have  more  roses  than 
they  had.  It  is  no  use,  I  repeat,  doing  these  things  shabbily, 
and  it  looks  so  absurd  to  admit  that  the  flowers  have  come 
from  the  South,  unless  they  really  make  a  show  which  is 
worthy  of  the  journey." 

"  Flowers  from  Nice  ! "  echoed  Hendrik.  "  What  rub- 
bisli !  Why,  the  Leeflands  are  among  the  richest  people  in 
Koopstad.     We  needn't  surely  compete  with  them." 


184  GOD'S  FOOL. 

A  weaker  woman  than  Cornelia  would  have  burst  out 
crying,  and  sobbed  that  she  wouldn't  have  a  party  at  all,  no, 
she  wouldn't,  however  much  Ilendrik  might  ask  her.  But 
Cornelia  knew  that  these  things  are  not  to  be  done  more 
than  once,  or  perhaps  twice,  in  a  life-time  by  a  wife  who  is 
older  than  her  husband,  or  by  one  who  has  a  Eoman  nose. 
Besides,  she  did  not  require  the  expedient ;  it  is  always  a 
little  humiliating,  though  invariably  successful.  She  could 
manage  without. 

"  It's  not  always  the  richest  people  who  need  to  spend 
most  money,"  she  began.  "  You  have  married  me,  Hen- 
drik,  and  now  you  must  support  me  accordingly.  We  can 
afford  neither  ostentation  nor  shabbiness.  But  we  must 
take  our  position  in  society,  and  that  will  depend  largely  on 
the  impression  we  create  this  winter.  I  am  going  to  create 
a  good  impression,  I  assure  you.  Leave  things  to  me,  and 
you  will  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied." 

"  My  mother's  position  was  all  right,"  said  Hendrik, 
annoved,  "  and  she  didn't  have  flowers  from  abroad." 

He  irritated  her  with  the  constant  reference  to  his 
mother.  "  I  tell  you,  times  alter,"  she  cried.  "  Leave  me 
in  peace  with  your  mother.  Besides,  the  case  was  different. 
Your  mother  found  her  position  ready-made." 

"  You  need  not  remind  me  of  that,"  said  Hendrik,  col- 
ouring. 

"  Yes,  I  must.  For  it  is  a  fact,  and  I  do  not  deny  it. 
It  would  be  false  pride  in  me  to  do  so,  and  I  have  no  false 
pride.  My  mother's  family  was  every  bit  as  good  as  your 
mother's,  but  my  father,  I  suppose,  was  below  yours.  At 
any  rate,  he  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  marry  the  wealthy 
Margaretha  Volderdoes." 

"  The  wealth  of  the  wealthy  Margaretha  Volderdoes  is 
not  mine,"  said  Hendrik,  still  irritably.  It  was  the  first 
time  that  he  alluded  to  the  subject  in  speaking  with  his 
wife.     She  looked  up  at  him  quickly. 

"  I  know  that,"  she  replied,  "  but  I  suppose  that  one  day 


THE   BRIDE  ASKS  FOR  FLOWERS.  185 

it — will  be.  Yours  and  Hubert's.  And,  meantime,  you 
are  the  head  of  the  business.  And  quite  rich  enough,  I  pre- 
sume." 

"  I  am  not  rich,"  jiersisted  Ilendrik.  "  You  saw  that 
from  the  marriage-settlements." 

"  I  know,"  she  said,  playing  with  her  hand  on  the  arm 
of  his  easy-chair,  "  that  you  have  not  as  miich  capital  at 
present  as  you  are  entitled  to.  But  your  income  from  the 
business  must  be  very  large,  Hendrik." 

"  My  income  from  the  business  is  what  poor  people  call 
very  large,"  answered  Hendrik  bitterly,  "  and  what  men  of 
business  themselves  call  miserably  small." 

"  He  might  mention  the  sum,"  thought  Cornelia. 

But  Hendrik  thought  differently. 

"  "Well,"  said  the  lady  as  soon  as  she  perceived  that  he 
remained  obstinately  silent,  "  it  is  no  wish  of  mine  to  in- 
trude into  your  privacy  in  any  way.  Nor  does  there  appear 
to  be  any  reason  why  I  should  do  so.  But  it  is  evident  to 
everyone,  and  you  will  not  deny  it,  that  you  can  afford,  and 
must  afford,  to  keep  up  your  position  in  this  town.  You 
need  not  be  afraid  of  my  falling  into  extravagance.  I  was 
not  brought  up  in  it,  Hendrik,  and  you  yourself  have  said 
hitherto  that  I  managed  so  well." 

"  Yes,"  assented  Hendrik,  "  that  is  true." 

"  Very  well,  then,"  she  continued,  following  up  her  suc- 
cess, "  you  may  be  sure  I  shall  stop  short  of  the  ex- 
ample of  that  great  lady  of  Paris  who,  the  Scraps  in  this 
week's  '  Graphic  '  say,  spent  forty  thousand  francs  on  the 
flowers  for  one  fete." 

But  her  comparison  overdid  it,  and  frightened  him. 

"  More  i^robably  an  adventuress  than  a  great  lady,"  he 
said.  "  However,  joking  apart,  how  much  do  you  expect 
them  to  cost  ?  " 

"  I  shall  have  to  find  out.  But  in  any  case,  Hendrik, 
you  must  allow  me  an  additional  grant  for  my  receptions. 
I  cannot,  of   course,  defray  them  out  of  the  housekeci^ing 


186  GOD'S  FOOL. 

money.     You  must  let  me  have,  say,  two  hundred  florins 
for  this  dinner " 

"  Two  hundred  florins  for  a  dinner  !  "  he  began. 

But  she  swept  down  his  voice,  "  And  the  flowers.  And, 
then,  we  shall  have  to  give  a  coujile  more,  which  may  be 
slightly  simpler,  and  an  evening  reception  once  or  twice 
with  a  little  music.  We  can't  live  like  hermits,  Hendrik, 
however  fond  we  may  be  of  each  other.  The  house  must 
do  as  it  is  for  this  year — people  will  understand  about  our 
not  altering  it — but,  when  we  go  abroad  during  the  summer, 
for  our  holiday,  it  will  have  to  be  done  up.  Yes,  it  will 
have  to  be  done  up  and  renovated  altogether.  There's  no 
denying  it :  it  ought  to  have  been  seen  to  years  ago.  And 
we  shall  have  to  get  new  furniture — modern  furniture — for 
the  two  drawing-rooms.  We  can  leave  the  dining-room  as 
it  is  for  the  present.  An  old-fashioned  dining-room  doesn't 
look  so  bad.  We  can't  help  ourselves.  We  needn't  ex- 
aggerate.    But  the  inevitable  we  must  do." 

She  stopped.     He  stood  on  the  hearthrug  staring  at  her. 

"  And,  Hendrik,"  she  added,  "  there  is  one  other  thing 
which  is  almost  more  important  than  any.  We  must  have 
a  carriage.  The  sooner  we  start  it  the  better.  It  will  look 
so  marked  to  do  it  after  a  while." 

"  Have  you  quite  done  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Quite.'' 

"  Then,  look  here,  Cornelia,  all  this  is  foolish  talk, 
utterly  unreasonable  and  impossible.  You  have  married  a 
hard-working  man,  a  man  of  business,  a  man  whose  object 
in  life  is  to  save  money,  not  to  waste  it.  We  are  going  to 
live  very  simply,  and  you  must  make  up  your  mind  to  do  so. 
I  am  not  unjust  to  you,  for  I  never  pretended  to  be  even  as 
rich  as  I  am." 

"  No,"  she  cried  angrily,  "  you  pretended  to  be  poor. 
And  there  is  nothing  more  dangerous — not  that  I  married 
you  for  wealth  or  for  poverty — than  a  rich  man's  pretend- 
ing to  be  poor.     It  writes  him  down  a  Croesus  at  once." 


THE  BRIDE  ASKS  FOR  FLOWERS.  187 

"  There  is  one  thing  yet  worse,"  he  said  quietly,  "  it  is  a 
poor  man's — or  woman's — pretending  to  be  rich.  It  doesn't 
pay." 

There  was  so  much  meaning  in  his  tone  that  she  looked 
at  his  face.     She  had  avoided  doing  so  for  some  time. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  asked.  "  You  are  most  un- 
just.    All  Koopstad  knew  we  were  poor." 

"  Ask  Thomas  what  I  mean,"  replied  Hendrik,  nettled 
into  desperate  candour.  He  had  not  intended  to  say  as 
much,  but  the  strain  of  the  moment  was  too  strong  for  him. 
These  plans  of  his  wife's  must  be  stojjped  by  all  means. 

"  I  prefer  to  ask  you,  Hendrik,"  she  said.  She  had  risen 
and  stood  facing  him. 

"  I  mean  this,"  he  said  fiercely,  "  that  the  less  money  is 
spent  in  this  house  the  better.  I  will  ring,  if  you  will  allow 
me,  for  tea." 

And  he  stopped  further  altercation  by  summoning  a 
servant.  Cornelia  stood  irresolute.  The  great  battle  had 
been  fought.  Who  had  won  it  ?  There  seemed  to  be  heavy 
losses  on  both  sides.  Her  husband  had  shown  more  energy 
than  she  had  expected  of  him.  Evidently,  this  question  of 
money  was  the  one  on  which  he  best  knew  his  own  mind. 
She  must  return  to  the  charge,  the  sooner  the  better,  but 
not  before  she  could  oversee  the  field.  The  vehemence  of 
her  emotion  had  brought  on  a  sharp  fit  of  headache,  more 
than  sufficient  to  justify  retreat.  But  retreat  would  have 
been  a  confession  of  discomfiture.  She  wrapped  herself  in 
imperious  silence  as  she  handed  her  husband's  tea. 

And  Hendrik  felt  stubborn  and  crestfallen,  "  sorry  he 
had  spoken,"  yet  resolved  to  hold  out. 

It  was  too  late  to  go  back,  for  either  of  them.  And  how 
to  go  on  successfully,  was  far  from  clear.  The  fate  of  all 
the  Lossells  hung  in  the  balance,  and  this  woman  stood 
poising  an  uncertain  weight  in  the  clasp  of  her  powerful 
hand. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

TREATS    OF    RELIGION. 

An  impression  of  discomfort  remained  brooding  after 
their  quarrel  over  the  newly-married  pair.  A  difference  of 
opinion  between  husband  and  wife  must  end  in  a  "  blow- 
up," if  it  is  to  end  at  all.  And  this  discrepancy  lay  almost 
too  deep  for  such  a  simple  solution.  The  expenses  of  life 
we  have  always  with  us,  whatever  may  become  of  its  joys. 
And  where  these  expenses  must  be  borne  in  common,  and 
one  of  twain  looks  at  them  through  a  telescope  and  the 
other  through  a  microscope,  the  daily  difficulty  cannot  but 
ultimately  dim  the  view  of  both.  So  it  was  with  Hendrik 
and  Cornelia.  They  were  not  sufficiently  attached  to  each 
other  for  either  loyally  to  sacrifice,  once  for  all,  his  or  her 
whole  object  in  life  to  the  other's  unreasonable  persistence ; 
they  were  not  so  altogether  indifferent  to  mutual  regard  as 
to  remain  entirely  content  under  a  consciousness  of  dis- 
agreement. They  had  not  yet  got  beyond  that  stage  in 
which  you  are  still  heartily  annoyed  because  your  partner 
in  life  will  not  see  that  it  Avould  be  rational  to  agree  with 
you.  There  is  another  slough,  which  lies  much  farther  and 
much  deeper,  the  slough  of  indifference  or  of  despair. 

So  they  lived  on  in  that  uncomfortable  relation  between 
two  closely  allied  persons  when  the  air  is  full  of  the  silence 
of  an  everpresent  preoccupation,  which  it  were  useless  to 
allude  to.  And  yet  sometimes  the  subject  would  unavoid- 
ably push  itself  forward.  And  there  were  moments  in  which 
one  of  the  two,  exasperated  by  silent  contemjilation  of  the 


TREATS  OF   RELIGION.  189 

other's  condiict,  would  burst  out  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
pent-up  eloquence.  Such  moments  were  rare,  however,  and 
they  were  not  of  the  kind  which  bring  peace  in  their  train. 
For  Cornelia  was  resolved  not  to  "save  and  scrape,"  and 
Hendrik  consistently  refused  to  "  waste." 

The  lady,  it  must  be  admitted,  had  the  stronger  posi- 
tion, for  it  is  always  easier  to  let  loose  than  to  restrain.  If 
she  chose  to  spend  money,  it  was  difficult  to  keep  her  from 
doing  so,  for  all  Koopstad  would  give  her  credit,  and  she 
simply  ordered  and  did  not  pay.  Hendrik  Lossell  soon  un- 
derstood that,  although  she  might  be  a  methodical  house- 
wife, the  credit  system  was  undoubtedly  at  the  bottom  of 
her  method.  And  to  check  her  in  this  course  he  would 
have  been  compelled  to  seek  for  aid  in  a  publicity  which  to 
him  would  have  seemed  worse  than  any  evil  she  could  do 
him.  So  the  dinner-party  took  place,  and  was  followed  by 
a  series  of  festivities.  Cornelia  resolutely  and  quietly  put 
her  foot  down,  and  sent  round  the  man  with  her  orders  and 
her  invitations.  She  was  not  unreasonable.  She  had  mar- 
ried a  husband  with  a  large  income,  and  she  was  not  going 
to  live  on  a  small  one. 

"  He  loves  money,"  she  said  to  herself  with  infinite 
scorn.  "  He  makes  a  lot  of  it,  and  then  he  puts  it  aside. 
For  shame  !  like  Harpagon,  he  loves  money  for  its  own 
sake — in  piles  ! "  She  did  not  love  money.  She  only  loved 
money's  worth. 

Yes,  Hendrik  Lossell  loved  money.  But  he  did  not  love 
it,  as  his  wife  believed,  for  its  own  bare,  glittering  sake 
alone.  He  had  always  respected  it,  from  his  earliest  youth 
upwards,  as  the  one  god  who  is  worshipped  in  Koopstad, 
and  when  a  child  he  had  looked  up  with  timid  reverence  to 
the  great  portal  of  its  temple,  the  Exchange,  which  none 
but  the  initiated  might  enter.  Those  memories  of  childish 
veneration  never  quite  die  away  from  our  hearts,  and  he 
must  indeed  have  been  seared  by  the  flame  of  a  desperate 
career  Avho  can  recall  what  was  deemed  holy  in  the  old 


190  GOD'S   FOOL. 

home  without  a  dim  admission  that  it  is  holy  still.  But 
Hcndrik,  in  the  smooth  flow  of  his  life  through  the  washed 
and  tidied  streets  of  Koopstad,  had  never  found  cause  to 
break  away  from  the  overshadowing  solemnity  of  the  state- 
religion.  The  state-religion  was  Caesar.  And  he  brought 
unto  Caesar  the  things  which  were  Caesar's,  cheerfully.  He 
had  never  heard — not  even  when  he  was  confirmed  upon 
reaching  the  requisite  age — of  God  and  the  things  which 
are  God's. 

He  loved  money,  because  the  man  who  does  not  love 
money  is  a  Socialist,  and  a  Socialist  is  a  Nihilist,  and  a 
Nihilist  is  an  Atheist.  And  an  Atheist  is  a  man  who  has 
no  religion.  Therefore,  the  love  of  money  being  the  root  of 
all  religion,  he  loved  money  because  he  was  a  religious  man. 

He  loved  it  with  a  humble,  tranquil  veneration  of  its 
majesty,  recognising  it  gratefully  as  the  sheet-anchor  of  that 
respectability  which,  to  him,  represented  the  good  ship  of 
state.  To  Cornelia  it  was  merely  a  source  of  personal  en- 
joyment— either  of  what  you  yourself  possessed,  as  mani- 
fested, for  instance,  in  the  purchase  of  pine-apples— or  of 
what  your  neighbours  lacked,  as  exemplified  when  your 
pine-apples  were  bigger  than  anybody  else's.  To  Hendrik 
it  was  a  wondrous  beneficent  Omnipotence,  enthroned  in  all 
that  is  not  only  great,  but  also  good,  the  enemy  of  the  im- 
proper, the  improvident,  the  tattered,  the  discontented,  in  a 
word,  the  one  tangible  bulwark  against  the  chaos  of  the 
anti-cosmos.  He  could  not  have  reasoned  it  out,  perhaps, 
but  to  him  and  to  his  co-religionists  the  god  of  the  Cosmos, 
its  originator  and  its  upholder,  was  gold.  He  was  not  al- 
together unreasonable,  surely.  The  original  King  may 
have  been  Love,  but  his  subjects  have  deposed  him. 

If  they  can. 

Cornelia's  love,  then,  was  a  merely  animal  affection, 
based  on  the  passions.  Hendrik's  was  a  far  higher  spiritual 
admiration,  growing  forth  from,  a  man's  calm  appreciation 
of  objective  good. 


TREATS  OF  RELIGION.  191 

You  cannot  quite  fathom  the  depth  of  his  feeling,  un- 
less you  live  in  Koopstad.     But,  very  probably,  you  do. 

The  passion  of  money-making,  however,  the  religious 
enthusiasm  of  the  thing,  had  first  come  upon  him  after  his 
father's  death.  Till  then  he  had  received  his  allowance, 
and  not  thought  much  about  the  matter,  except  that  it  was 
a  good  thing  his  father  was  rich.  But  the  discovery  which 
had  followed  Hendrik  Senior's  demise  had  brought  home  in 
quite  a  different  manner — by  comparison  of  absence — the 
value  of  wealth  to  Hendrik  Junior's  mind.  Old  Elias  Vol- 
derdoes's  will  changed  the  whole  man,  not  by  altering  his 
character,  but  by  suddenly  sobering  and  hardening  it  down 
at  the  early  age  of  nineteen.  Still  a  boy,  a  precocious  bo}', 
such  as  these  young  city-chaps  are  apt  to  be,  but  a  boy, 
nonetheless,  he  found  himself  placed,  as  soon  as  the  law 
would  grant  him  license,  face  to  face  with  the  great  diffi- 
culties and  yet  greater  responsibilities  of  his  position  as 
practical  head  of  the  house.  The  position  was  an  unjust 
one,  cruelly  unjust,  for  all  the  dead  weight  of  work  and 
anxiety  pressed  heavy  upon  his  shoulders,  while  the  fruits 
of  his  labour  dropped  from  his  hand  into  others,  into  hands 
which  were  too  weak  to  retain  the  treasure  and  let  it  sink 
in  a  useless  mass  upon  the  ground.  This  sensation  of  futile 
work, — not  so  much  of  work  done  for  another,  as  of  futile 
work,  for  the  fast  colecting  heap  of  dull  gold  would  prob- 
ably pour  into  his  pockets  in  the  end,  when  it  was  too  late, 
— had  roused  all  the  energies  of  his  nature  into  dogged  op- 
position. He  was  an  irritable  but  unimaginative  man,  one 
of  the  coarsely  materialistic  yet  intensely  nervous  organiza- 
tions of  this  age  of  railway  engines.  And  to  suggest  in- 
justice to  him,  was  to  exasperate  him  into  restless  resist- 
ance. For  it  is  a  tendency  of  our  time  that  men  can  no 
longer  brook  the  slightest  injustice  or  oppression.  When 
they  experience  them. 

But  in  many  M'ays,  undeniably,  Lossell's  lot,  such  as  cir- 


192  GOD'S  FOOL. 

cumstances  had  fashioned  it,  Avas  a  hard  one,  and  it  could 
almost  be  said  that  he  had  a  right  to  rebel  against  it.  He 
resolved  to  alter  it.  And  his  resolve  soon  grew  upon  him, 
with  the  daily  pressure  of  his  wrongs,  into  that  intensity  of 
purpose  which  shrinks  back  from  no  sacrifice,  if  needs  be, 
from  no  crime.  For  there  is  nothing  that  breeds  injustice 
like  impatience  of  injustice. 

Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  profits  of  the  business  were  his, 
fifteen  per  cent,  were  Hubert's,  the  remaining  seventy  be- 
longed to  the  shareholders,  as  yet  to  the  unique  shareholder, 
Elias.  But  it  will  be  remembered  that  Hendrik  had  in- 
sisted on  acquiring  the  right  to  purchase  shares  at  a  fair 
price  from  his  idiot  step-brother.  And  as  long  as  Elias 
was  considered  responsible  for  his  actions,  there  could  be 
nothing  to  hinder  the  shares  being  thus  disposed  of.  In 
fact,  it  was  the  one  way  out  of  the  dilemma,  as  Alers  had 
immediately  understood. 

Hendrik  set  himself  then,  heart  and  soul,  to  the  ac- 
quiring of  these  shares.  All  that  he  wanted,  to  become 
master  of  the  business,  was  capital  to  buy  out  the  useless 
sleeping-partner,  but  it  would  be  a  long  time  ere  he  could 
command  the  large  sums  required  for  such  an  operation. 
Before  Hubert  had  left  for  Shanghai,  it  had  been  settled 
that  the  shares  were,  for  the  next  few  years,  to  be  estimated 
at  a  hundred  and  fifty-seven  per  cent.  Hubert  himself  had 
bought  a  couple  before  his  marriage,  not  since.  Hendrik's 
one  object  of  existence  was  to  scrap  money  together  and 
buy  more. 

During  the  first  few  years  after  his  father's  death  he  had 
gradually  dropped  all  those  expensive  tastes  and  habits 
which  Koopstad  dutifully  nurtures  in  her  richer  sons.  He 
cared  for  nothing  now  in  which  he  could  not  foresee,  through 
an  intermediate  vista  of  money-making,  a  nearer  approach 
to  the  goal  he  was  aspiring  after.  And  so  his  whole  soul 
went  out  to  a  passion  of  gold-getting,  as  a  racer  tears  over 
the  ground,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  sand  beneath  his  feet, 


TREATS  OF  RELIGIOX.  193 

but  for  the  sake  of  that  little  flag  at  the  end.  His  little  flag 
was  the  mastery  of  Volderdoes  Zonen.  But  his  approach 
to  it  could  hardly  be  compared  to  a  rush  over  a  race-course. 
It  was  a  struggle  uphill. 

He  fought  himself  iu  all  his  little  foibles,  and  conquered 
them.  He  smoked  cheaper  cigars — not  a  little  thing,  0 
daughters  of  Kooj)stad ! — he  crushed  down  his  taste  for 
good  French  wines  (and  he  had  it)  ;  he  caused  his  tailor  to 
lift  hands  of  deprecatory  horror  by  sending  a  light  summer- 
coat  to  be  dyed.  Somebody  says  this  is  nonsense.  The 
somebody  has  forgotten  all  about  when  he  was  nineteen,  or 
he  has  never  had  a  light  summer-coat. 

And  so  he  saved  money.  It's  only  the  business-man 
who  knows  that  every  little  tells.  How  he  knew  it !  How 
he  thought  over  it  and  worked  it  out.  His  one  pleasure  had 
become  to  sit  of  evenings  over  his  account-books,  reckoning 
again  and  again  his  chances  of  profit  and  loss.  His  gains 
for  the  year  would  probably  amount  to  so  much.  His  ex- 
penses to  so  much.  There  would  be  so  much  left,  then, 
towards  the  share-buying.  He  hardly  had  time  to  notice 
in  between  that  his  mother  died. 

And  in  all  this  he  was  upright  and  straightforward.  His 
mind  was  set  square  on  its  course.  He  had  understood  im- 
mediately, after  the  first  temptation  and  its  defeat  by 
Hubert,  that  the  shares  must  be  honestly  worked  for  and 
earned.  He  had  no  wish  to  obtain  them  by  other  means 
from  Elias.  He  set  himself  to  obtain  them  thus.  And  his 
one  comfort  was  that  the  day  would  come  at  last,  when  he 
would  know  that  he  was  lord  of  the  great  house  of  business, 
in  reality  and  not  only  in  name,  and  when  he  could  declare 
the  fact  before  men. 

Yes,  he  must  be  able  to  declare  it  before  men.  And 
therefore,  above  all,  there  must  be  no  underhand  dealing. 
The  brothers  had  left  their  father's  notary,  but  they  had 
betaken  themselves  to  another  of  equal  standing.  And  the 
necessary  "  procurations  "  relative  to  the  administration  of 
13 


194  GOD'S   FOOL. 

Elias's  property  had  been  made  out  with  all  due  precision 
and  legal  propriety.  It  could  all  bear  inspection  by  anyone 
who  might  choose  to  inquire  into  it.  The  best  experts  had 
been  called  in  to  settle  the  price  of  the  shares.  All  Koop- 
stad  might  know  that  Elias's  step-brothers  were  slowly  buy- 
ing him  out  at  that  price.  It  was  essential  that  Koopstad 
should  know  it.  And  that,  ultimately,  it  should  know  of 
their  success.  Life,  perhaps,  was  not  worth  living,  but  that 
moment  of  life  was  worth  living  for. 

And,  then,  suddenly,  he  married  Cornelia.  A  fortune  ! 
The  news  had  dawned  upon  him  with  one  encircling  flash 
of  thought,  not  subsequent  but  simultaneous.  Such  fortune 
meant,  by  no  means  the  realization  of  his  plans,  yet  a  great 
step  towards  it.  For,  if  once  such  a  share  in  the  business 
had  passed  into  his  hands,  the  increase  to  his  income  result- 
ing from  it  would  easily  enable  him  to  make  further  pur- 
chases. It  would,  above  all,  give  him  an  immense  advance 
upon  Hubert,  who  had  married  a  poor  girl  out  yonder,  all 
for  love  and  loneliness.  To  get  the  start  of  Hubbie  was  a 
great  thing  for  Henkie.  He  was  furiously  jealous  of 
Hubbie,  his  partner,  his  brother,  and,  therefore,  his  rival. 

All  this  stood  out  in  clear  light  upon  his  mind  the  very 
moment  he  first  heard  from  Alers  the  story  of  the  lottery- 
prize.  He  liked  Cornelia.  He  resolved  at  once,  to  com- 
bine duty  and  pleasure  in  marrying  Cornelia  and  her  money. 
"Which  represented  duty?  And  Avhich  pleasure?  He 
hardly  knew.  A  little  of  both,  perhaps,  was  to  be  found  in 
each. 

A  man  who  thought  and  hoped  as  he  did  might  have 
been  expected  to  hang  back  as  soon  as  he  discovered  the 
error  into  which  he  had  been  trapped.  But  to  think  this 
of  him  was  not  to  know  him  well.  Undoubtedly  his  first 
impulse,  as  we  have  seen,  was  to  cut  the  cords  and  free  him- 
self. But  he  desisted  as  soon  as  he  joerceived  that  the  cords 
were  drawn  too  tight.  For,  if  it  be  true  that  gold  was  his 
god,  we  have  seen  that  it  was  respectable  gold.    He  was  not 


TREATS   OF  RELIGION.  195 

a  false-coiner.  He  clung  to  that  outer  respectability  which 
is  of  the  very  essence  of  money.  For  money  has  always 
been  the  maximum  of  the  genteel  to  the  many ;  that  is  why 
they  stamp  it  with  the  heads  of  Kings.  The  number  has 
ever  been  a  restricted  one  of  those  who  know  the  difference 
between  snobs  and  common  people,  or  Kings  and  gentlemen, 
but  coppers  and  counters  no  ten-year-old  boy  will  confuse. 

The  number  is  small,  but  it  has  always  existed.  And  it 
is  loud-voiced.  Hendrik  Lossell  was  afraid  of  public  opin- 
ion. Public  opinion,  when  it  turns  to  the  right,  is  usually 
the  opinion  of  a  chosen  resolute  few.  Hendrik  knew  that 
these  few  go  about  in  the  city  even  unto  this  day,  as  the 
prophets  of  Jehovah  went  about  among  the  children  of  Baal. 

He  saw — also  in  a  moment ;  he  was  a  man  of  slow  im- 
pulse and  quick  decision — he  saw  that  he  could  no  longer 
go  back.  And  he  went  on.  In  one  word  :  His  cult  was  not 
the  cult  of  gold.  It  was  the  cult  of  social  weight.  It  was 
not,  as  had  been  the  case  with  old  Elias,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  with  Hendrik  Senior,  the  impersonal  cult  of  Voider- 
does  Zonen.  For  the  firm  itself,  to  him,  was  chiefly  a  means 
towards  an  end.  His  father  had  sacrificed  his  life  to  the 
idea  of  commercial  probity,  honesty  with  regard  to  his  un- 
fortunate son,  the  heir  of  the  house  of  Yolderdoes.  He 
would  have  liked  the  boy  to  die,  but  he  could  not  cheat 
liim.  Not  even  under  the  stress  of  disastrous  speculations. 
There  was  some  small  chance  of  Hendrik  Junior's  cheat- 
ing, if  only  he  could  feel  certain  that  he  would  never  be 
found  out. 

At  present,  however,  he  liad  not  the  slightest  wish  to 
cheat.  He  was  willing  to  work,  to  work  hard.  And  every 
fresh  thousand  that  came  rolling,  wave-like,  into  the  dead 
sea  of  Elias's  fortune  he  conscientiously  invested  in  Dutch 
Consols,  where  it  lay  uppermost  till  another  wave  fell 
a-top  of  it.     It  never  had  to  wait  long. 

And  he  scraped,  and  saved,  and  was  happy  in  hope. 
And  then,  you  see,  he  married  Cornelia. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

MUSIC   AND    DISCORD. 

And  having  married  Cornelia  somewhat  against  his 
will,  he  was  delighted  and  cheered  by  the  discovery  of  her 
talent  for  housekeeping.  The  discovery  took  a  load  off  his 
mind.  True,  he  had  expected  that  she  would  have  thrifty 
habits,  but  he  had  not  known  whether  she  would  combine 
economy  with  comfort.  "  After  all,"  he  had  said  to  himself 
in  those  first  days  of  his  engagement,  "  it  is  cheaper,  on  the 
long  run,  to  marry  a  poor  girl  than  a  rich  one."  He  was 
delighted  to  see  his  sophism  assume  such  an  appearance  of 
good-sense.  There  is  no  sensation  on  earth  more  enjoyable 
than  to  find  one's  favourite  sophism  come  true. 

He  actually  grew  quite  fond  of  his  stately  wife.  And  it 
vexed  him  to  be  obliged  to  disapprove  of  her  conduct.  But 
she  soon  disappointed  him  in  the  very  expectations  he  had 
most  fondly  cherished.  It  was  too  bad  that  Cornelia,  of  all 
women,  should  prove  extravagant. 

"  It  would  be  too  bad,"  said  Cornelia  to  herself  continu- 
ally, "  to  marry  a  large  income  and  live  on  a  small  one." 

Some  husbands  can  let  slip  a  virtue  or  two  in  their 
wives  without  noticing  much  difference.  They  have  plenty 
to  lose.  But  the  bottom  of  the  basket  had  always  remained 
more  or  less  plainly  visible  to  Hendrik  Lossell's  eyes. 

He  was  coming  leisurely  downstairs  to  his  late  breakfast 
on  Sunday  morning.  Sunday  to  him,  as  a  rule,  was  a  day 
on  which  to  transact  such  private  business  as  he  could  find 


MUSIC  AND  DISCORD.  197 

no  time  for  in  the  week.  He  would  look  over  his  personal 
accounts  and  read  the  weekly  survey  of  the  Stock  Exchange, 
and  he  would  write  tlie  few  uncommercial  letters  which 
circumstances  might  require.  He  was  member  of  a  couple 
of  committees,  like  every  Dutchman,  high  or  low,  and  these 
gave  him  a  little  desultory  occupation  of  the  gently  satis- 
factory sort.  One  of  them  was  devoted  to  Charity  Organ- 
ization. He  did  not  believe  in  charity,  but  he  believed  in 
organizing  it  into  a  minimum  of  charitableness.  He  was 
one  of  their  best  men. 

In  spite  of  his  small  respect  for  the  Sabbath,  he  invol- 
untarily experienced  its  reposeful  influence.  To  begin  with, 
there  never  was  any  hurry  about  getting  up  on  this  first  day 
of  the  week.  And  on  that  account,  doubtless,  as  well  as 
through  the  absence  of  the  customary  peals  at  the  servants' 
entrance,  a  holy  calm  permeates  the  houses  and  skins  even 
of  those  who  would  be  most  unwilling  to  acknowledge  a 
day  of  rest.  In  France  and  Germany,  for  instance,  it  is 
not  the  pleasure-making  which  swamps  the  idea  of  Sunday 
half  as  much  as  the  continuance  of  work.  You  look  out  of 
window,  and  there  is  the  butcher  at  the  door,  and  the 
bricklayer  opposite  is  spreading  his  mortar.  Poor  fellows ! 
they  are  enlightened  members,  probably,  of  their  "  Free- 
thought  Society,"  and  this  evening  they  will  prove  to  you, 
with  impassioned  eloquence,  that  Christianity  has  conferred 
no  benefits  on  mankind. 

Hendrik  Lossell  had  had  time  to  shave  leisurely.  And 
that,  in  itself,*  is  always  indicative  of  peace  of  body  and 
mind.  The  scene  upon  which  he  looked  forth  from  his 
bedroom-window  was  tranquil,  but,  then,  it  was  always  that. 
The  house  stood  in  its  own  small  patch  of  ground,  at  some 
distance  from  the  road,  with  a  carriage-sweep  in  front  of  it. 
Nobody  ever  passed  it  except  the  people  who  couldn't  help 
doing  so. 

lie  had  drawn  on  his  coat  carefully — he  was  not  one  of 
the  men  who  wear  Sunday  coats.    And  he  had  thoughtfully 


198  GOD'S  FOOL. 

put  back  his  watch  and  liis  loose  change  and  other  trifles 
into  his  pockets,  instead  of  making  a  grab  at  the  whole  lot, 
as  on  Aveek-days. 

lie  had  dressed  alone,  for  Cornelia,  who  detested  loiter- 
ing, had  gone  downstairs  an  hour  before.  Cornelia  was 
never  half-awake.  You  could  imagine  that  she  woke  up 
with  her  boots  laced. 

And  so  he  stole  downstairs,  enjoying  the  slowness  of  his 
movements,  the  dajaper  little  man.  He  was  going  to  have 
a  quiet  day  of  it.  The  only  thing  he  regretted  was  the 
hitch  in  his  intercourse  with  Cornelia,  Perhaps  he  might 
go  and  see  Elias  again,  once  in  a  way.  He  did  not  often  go 
and  see  Elias.  But  since  his  silent  quarrel  with  his  wife,  he 
felt  himself  more  drawn  at  times  towards  his  elder  brother. 

As  he  proceeded  step  by  step  across  the  little  half-way 
landing,  he  heard  voices  down  in  the  entrance-hall,  and, 
looking  over  the  banisters,  he  saw  his  wife  in  eager  con- 
versation with  a  gentleman,  whom  he  immediately  rec- 
ognized. 

"  I  cannot  do  it,  if  you  stick  to  that  price,"  the  fair  Cor- 
nelia was  saying  with  majestic  eagerness ;  "  I  am  sure  you 
are  very  expensive,  Herr  Pfuhl." 

Hendrik  understood  at  once  that  a  fresh  plot  Avas  being 
hatched  against  his  repose  of  soul.  For  the  personage  who 
was  paying  his  wife  so  early  a  morning  call  was  the  director 
of  the  Orchestra  which  provided  all  the  high-class  music  of 
Koopstad.  Herr  Pfuhl  was  one  of  those  people  who  always 
make  the  impression  upon  you  of  standing  in  need  of  being 
pulled  together  and  buttoned  up.  He  was  a  loose,  flabby, 
untidy  sort  of  man,  with  a  round  face  and  figure,  red  cheeks 
and  tie,  and  shiny  head  and  spectacles.  The  aforesaid 
full  moon  on  his  occiput  was  bordered  at  the  lower  side  by 
a  fringe  of  straggling,  wispy  dust-coloured  locks,  and  when 
he  bowed  his  fat  little  body,  as  he  incessantly  did,  you 
caught  yourself  wondering  how  it  was  possible  for  a  ball  to 
cave  in  like  that  unless  it  was  hollow.     Iseed  it  be  added 


MUSIC  AND  DISCORD.  199 

after  this  that  he  bit  his  nails?  That  one  fact  ouglit  to 
have  incapacitated  him  for  his  profession.  But  he  was  a 
magnificent  musician,  and  some  people  considered  this  a 
compensation. 

"  What  is  expensive  ? "  cried  Hendrik  quickly.  He 
hung  over  the  banisters  as  far  as  he  could  reach. 

Cornelia  started — internally.  She  looked  up  calmly 
enough.  Herr  Pfuhl  looked  up  also.  And  as  the  round 
red  face  and  the  thin  pale  face  were  lifted  towards  him,  Hen- 
drik thought  to  himself :  "  she  is  really  quite  handsome  ! 
How  well  she  carries  her  head  ! " 

"  I  was  asking  Herr  Pfuhl,"  she  said  sweetly,  "  what 
would  be  his  price  for  a  musical  evening.  It  would  be  such 
a  good  idea  to  give  a  small  concert,  I  thought.  But  his 
price  is  beyond  me.     I  think  he  ought  to  do  it  for  less." 

For,  although  she  was  as  magnificent  in  her  views  as  the 
most  penniless  fortune-hunter,  she  could  haggle  and  cut 
down  like  the  wealthiest  daughter  of  Israel. 

"  But  Mevrouw  is  dragging  me  the  skin  over  the  ears," 
protested  the  Director.  He  spoke  no  language  at  all.  He 
had  forgotten  his  own,  and  had  never  learned  Dutch.  "  And 
she  ignores  that  I  cannot  play  my  pieces  with  one  half  the 
performers  and  leave  the  others  to  make  musics  in  the 
streets.  It  is  not  a  band,  Himmelkreuzsacrament,  and  my 
price  is  "  fixe  "  like  in  the  big  bazaars.  And  you  do  not  pay 
half-seat  in  the  concert  neither,  because  you  please  to  go 
away  in  the  middle."  He  looked  up  again  to  Mynheer 
Lossell  as  if  appealing  for  help.     He  got  it. 

Hendrik  ran  down  a  flight  more  stairs,  and  paused  at  a 
distance  of  a  few  steps  from  the  bottom. 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,  Herr  Pfuhl,"  he  said.  "  There 
will  be  no  music.  Most  certainly  there  will  be  no  music. 
"We  cannot  alTord  to  pay  for  it,  and  therefore  we  will  not 
have  it." 

But  this  answer  conciliated  neither  party.  Nor  did  he 
intend  it  to  do  so.     The  Orchestra-Director  had  quite  ex- 


200  GOD'S  FOOL. 

pected  to  secure  his  engagement,  for  he  had  perceived  that 
Mevrouw's  heart  was  set  upon  the  matter,  but  he  had  hoped 
that  Mynheer  would  prove  malleable  with  regard  to  the 
price,  as  is  the  manner  of  men. 

"  Not  but  that  I  should  be  gracious  to  give  the  concert," 
he  began — he  meant  gratified — "  for,  arranged  as  Mevrouw 
would  intend  it,  it  would  be  a  beneficent  precedent  in  the 
city,  still  I  must  consider —  " 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  affording  or  not  affording,"  in- 
terrupted Cornelia  hastily.  "  Mynheer  agrees  with  me,  you 
see,  Herr  Pfuhl,  that  your  price  is  too  high.  Only  he  puts 
it  differently." 

"  Yes,  the  price  is  too  high,"  cried  Lossell,  slightly  rais- 
ing his  voice,  "  and  lucky  the  man  who  finds  that  out  before 
paying.  With  some  things  you  can't,  Herr  Pfuhl.  And 
then  you  must  make  the  best  of  a  bad  business,  Herr  Pfuhl. 
It's  a  very  fine  thing,  is  music,  Herr  Pfuhl,  but  sometimes 
you  get  tired  of  a  tune.  And,  although  you  can't  always 
stop  the  music  when  you  want  to,  you  can  always  leave  off 
dancing  to  it,  I  believe,  Herr  Pfuhl.  Don't  you  think  that 
one  can  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  for  dancing,"  replied  Herr  Pfuhl  confusedly, 
"  but  for  a  concert  of  instrumentals,  as  I  understand." 

"  The  principle  remains  the  same,"  cried  Lossell. 
"Keep  out  of  expenses  while  you  can." 

"  But  don't,  if  you  can't,"  interrupted  Cornelia  tartly. 

Till  now  her  husband  had  resolutely  fastened  his  eyes 
upon  the  orchestra-director's  shining  rotundity.  He  with- 
drew them  for  a  moment — less  than  a  moment — as  Cornelia 
spoke  ;  and  their  glances  met.  In  that  tenth  of  a  second  a 
big  battle  was  fought  and  lost,  far  more  decisive  than  the 
wordy  dispute  of  the  other  night.  For  Hendrik  read  de- 
fiance in  Cornelia's  look,  and  retreated  before  it.  In  that 
flash  of  recognition  he  resolved  to  give  up  all  attempts  to 
browbeat  her.  His  must  be  a  warfare  not  of  the  broad- 
sword, but  of  the  stiletto.     There  lay  discomfiture  in  the 


MUSIC  AND  DISCORD.  201 

swift  admission,  not  defeat  as  yet,  but  repulse.  Once  more 
Cornelia's  eagle  face  had  stood  her  in  good  stead.  "  After 
all,  I  can't  slap  her,"  muttered  Lossell  to  himself,  as  he 
scowled  back  towards  Herr  Pfuhl's  bald  head. 

Indeed,  he  could  not. 

"  '  Can't '  is  an  ugly  word,"  he  said,  to  himself  almost  as 
much  as  to  her,  and  he  walked  away  in  the  direction  of  the 
breakfast-room.  In  the  entry  he  turned  round.  "K"o 
concert  this  winter,  Herr  Pf  uhl !  "  he  cried,  and  then  he 
shut  the  door  quickly  behind  him. 

He  was  still  sufficiently  master  of  his  own  house  to  say 
what  he  chose  in  it.  But  he  was  not  master  enough  to 
remain  where  he  chose,  after  having  said  it. 

He  was  far  from  sorry  to  think  the  door  should  be  shut. 

The  repose  of  the  Sabbath — that  blessed  resting  on  the 
oars — had  been  broken  by  a  sudden  squall.  He  glowered 
discontentedly  at  the  breakfast-things,  and,  as  he  lifted  the 
teapot-lid,  he  sneered  down  upon  the  innocent  brown  liquid 
inside.  Yet  Cornelia  could  make  good  tea.  And  he  knew 
it.     It  is  a  beautiful  thing  in  a  woman. 

No  man  of  nervous  or  artistic  temperament  should  bind 
himself  in  wedlock  before  the  partner  of  his  choice  has 
passed  an  examination  in  tea-making.  And  even  in  Koop- 
stad  there  are  nervous  souls,  though  inartistic,  in  these  days 
of  ours  when  Time  travels  only  by  rail.  Hendrik  was  of  a 
highly  nervous  nature,  irritable  and  fifty  miles  an  hour. 
He  sat  down  to  breakfast  and  drew  the  Sunday  morning 
paper  towards  him.  Cornelia  might  as  well  stop  away  as 
not.  How  unreasonable  she  was,  and  how  inconsiderate ! 
He  would  walk  out  presently  and  see  Elias.  The  W'alk 
would  do  him  good  and  brace  him  up  a  bit.  Elias  was  his 
brother — a  step-brother,  but  still  a  brother,  a  Lossell.  Blood 
is  thicker  than  water,  and  every  now  and  then  the  old  truth 
comes  home  to  you.  And  Cornelia  was  fast  deepening  into 
a  nuisance. 

She  came  in,  serene,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.     Her 


202  GOD'S  FOOL. 

victory  satisfied  her  for  the  moment,  and  she  was  too  wise  a 
woman  not  to  relax  her  hold  of  the  rope,  the  moment  she 
had  drawn  the  boat  into  her  current.  She  had  shown  Hen- 
drik  the  limit  of  her  endurance,  and  instead  of  leaping  over 
it,  he  had  shivered  back.  That  was  enough  for  to-day. 
She  did  not  really  want  the  concert  very  badly,  especially 
not  at  that  "  scandalous  "  price. 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,  Henk,"  she  said  mildly,  as  she 
busied  herself  with  her  tray,  "  and  I  have  told  Herr  Pfuhl  so 
and  sent  him  away.  It  would  be  absurd  to  pay  so  much 
for  his  band,  and  we  can,  in  any  case,  very  well  wait  till 
next  year." 

Hendrik's  whole  being  melted  away  into  notes  of  in- 
terrogation and  admiration,  as  he  stopped  and  stared  at  his 
wife,  the  open  print  in  one  hand,  his  half -lifted  tea-cup  in 
the  other. 

"  We  must  give  an  extra  dinner  instead,"  continued 
Mevrouw.  "  Why  did  you  not  wait  for  me  to  pour  out  your 
tea,  Hendrik  ?  " 

"  I  am  in  a  hurry,"  answered  Lossell,  still  bewildered, 
"  I  want  to  walk  out  to  Elias's  and  see  how  the  poor  chap  is 
getting  on." 

Mevrouw  pulled  a  face.  She  did  not  like  to  think  of 
the  useless  idiot  who  stood  between  her  and  her  full  glory 
of  greatness.  Elias  was  her  permanent  eclipse.  "  Oh,  de- 
pend upon  it,  he  is  perfectly  well  and  happy,"  she  snapped. 
She  avoided  as  much  as  possible  allowing  her  thoughts  to 
dwell  upon  contingencies,  but  she  could  not  keep  down  an 
undercurrent  of  exasperation  at  sight  of  the  idiot's  un- 
broken health.  "  It  is  only  the  peojjle  whose  existence  has 
no  raison  d'etre,"  she  said,  "  that  go  on  living  forever." 

"  So-o,"  muttered  Herr  Pfuhl  to  himself  emphatically, 
in  a  long-drawn  reminiscence  of  his  native  land.  He 
hurried  down  the  short  avenue  in  fi-etful  jumps,  and,  as  he 
went,  he  struck  his  greasy  wide-awake  down  flat  on  his 


MUSIC  AND  DISCORD.  203 

speckled  cabinet-pudding  of  a  head.  "  So  is  it  in  the  great 
houses.  They  have  the  butters  and  the  oils  of  life,  and  yet 
the  wheels  go  creaking.  The  Mefrou,  ah,  she  will  have  her 
concert  when  she  wants  it.  Not  so  was  my  Lieschen.  Never 
has  she  given  me  Blutwurst  again,  since  I  told  her  it  was 
Leberwurst  I  loved  better.  And  yet  Blutwurst  was  her 
Leibgericht." 

Whenever  he  was  strongly  moved,  his  German  seemed 
to  break  forth  again  purer  from  some  hidden  spring  of  feel- 
ing and  to  come  surging  up  across  the  muddy  ditch  of 
broken  Dutch. 

A  film  spread  over  his  eyes,  for  Lieschen  would  never 
eat  Blutwurst  again.  She  had  been  dead  for  many  years. 
She  had  died  in  the  strange,  straight-lined  country,  of  a 
chill  at  the  heart. 

Peace  be  to  the  old  Director's  ashes.  He,  too,  is  dead. 
But  his  orchestra  was  heard  in  Mevrouw  Lossell's  rooms, 
before  he  laid  down  his  baton.  And  on  that  memorable 
occasion  Hendrik  Lossell  went  up  to  him,  with  nervous, 
puckered  face,  and  complimented  him  on  the  excellence  of 
the  performance,  adding,  with  a  palpable  sneer,  that  there 
were  some  things  so  valuable  you  could  never  pay  enough 
for  them. 

And  the  sneer  was  at  himself. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A   PRINCE   AMONG    PAUPEKS. 

To  Elias  life  was  one  long  Sabbath.  The  dim  hush  of 
a  cathedral-chapel.  The  long-drawn,  mournful  sweetness 
of  organ-tones  that  sink  to  rest. 

For  the  full  blaze  of  life  and  the  full  burst  of  life,  the 
heart's  sunshine  and  the  mind's  proud  clamour  of  activity, 
these  could  never  be  but  partially  aroused,  where  the  ave- 
nues of  sight  and  sound  remained  blocked. 

Yet  he  was  happy  in  the  stillness — in  the  half-light  of 
his  existence.  As  he  looked  down  the  long  vista  of  mo- 
notonous years,  he  lost  count,  if  ever  he  had  been  able  to 
retain  it,  and,  dully  as  he  remembered  a  time  when  he  was 
happier  still,  because  less  hampered  in  enjoyment,  the  rec- 
ollection conveyed  to  him  no  conception  of  a  "  nevermore." 
That  phase,  though  not  present  with  him  at  the  moment, 
was  a  perpetual  reality.  He  regretted  it  no  more  than  a 
child  regrets  this  morning's  breakfast  in  the  presence  of 
this  evening's  tea.  For  all  that,  it  may  prefer  the  earlier 
meal.  Elias  knew  that  all  things,  good  and  evil,  have  their 
times  of  coming  and  going,  yet  the  thread  of  existence  was 
tangled  round  his  brain  in  the  form  neither  of  a  ragged 
scrap — cut  at  both  ends — (as  with  us)  nor  of  a  harmonious 
circle  (as  with  the  philosophers)  but  of  an  ellipse  (as,  I  pre- 
sume, with  other  fools).  That  which  was,  and  that  Avhicli 
is  and  that  which  shall  be  blended  together — it  has  already 
been  pointed  out — into  a  unity  of  consciousness.  The  con- 
sciousness of  love,  which  is  impulse,  and  that  steadfast 


A  PRINCE  AMONG  PAUPERS.  205 

calm  of  regret  which  is  love  inadequate  or  love  misunder- 
stood. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  present  a  distinct  picture  of  Elias's 
"  clouded  intellect "  to  intellects  unclouded,  which  have 
always  been  aware  that,  if  to-day  is  the  31st  of  December, 
the  30th  must  have  immediately  preceded  it,  while  to- 
morrow will  be  New  Year's  Day,  when  the  old  year  will 
be  definitely  dead.  But  it  doesn't  matter.  We  can  skip 
Elias ;  and  yet  the  story,  I  flatter  me,  will  remain  interest- 
ing still,  for  Hendrik  Lossell  was  very  wide-awake  and  un- 
clouded, and  able  to  do  any  amount  of  mental  arithmetic, 
connected  with  tea.  Besides,  there  is  a  murder  later  on, 
if  you  care  to  get  so  far,  just  as  there  is  in  this  morning's 
"  Police."  Elias  Lossell  is  uninteresting,  but  he  cannot 
help  it.  He  is  only  a  fool,  and  not  even  a  titled  one.  Had 
he  lived  in  England  and  had  his  florins  been  pounds  ster- 
ling, he  would  probably,  as  eldest  son  of  the  late  merchant 
prince,  his  father,  have  been  Sir  Elias  Lossell,  or  even,  per- 
haps. Lord  Taycaddy.  And  the  Honourable  Henk  and  the 
Honourable  Hub  Avould  have  been  more  honourable  then 
than  they  can  ever  hope  to  be  now  or  henceforth.  And 
Elias  would  have  been  interesting,  although  belonging  to 
a  not  uncommon  class.  But  all  that  is  impossible.  There 
never  was  a  Baron  took  to  trade  in  Holland  yet,  neither 
in  tea  nor  in  cotton  nor  in  anything  else,  excepting  the 
seven  pearls  of  his  coronet.  The  Lossells  and  their  friends 
would  have  laughed  me  to  scorn,  had  I  pretended,  out  of 
deference  to  my  readers'  feelings,  that  Elias  was  a  Baron. 
He  was  not.  And  as  his  name  has  unfortunately  been 
dragged  out  of  the  quiet  corner  where  it  shone  serenely 
in  the  hearts  of  the  few  who  knew  and  loved  him  into 
the  glare  of  literary  notoriety,  it  must  now  remain  for  ever 
inscribed  on  the  long  roll  of  the  Circulating  Libraries  as 
a  probably  unique  example  of  a  hero  of  modern  story 
who  stands  forth  as  an  unutterable,  and  nonetheless  an  un- 
titled, fool. 


206  GOD'S  FOOL. 

His  folly  was  without  auy  alleviation,  and  also  without 
any  excuse. 

And  yet  he  was  interesting  enough  in  his  own  circle 
of  Koopstad,  was  my  poor  Elias.  How  interesting  he  was 
came  out  plainly  on  the  occasion  of  his  brother's  mar- 
riage. As  a  rule,  Elias  lived  away  in  his  modest  house  and 
garden  outside  the  town.  He  never  entered  the  narrow, 
traffic-tormented  streets.  You  could  meet  him,  with  his 
faithful  Johanna  or  a  manservant,  occasionally,  if  you  went 
for  long  walks  in  the  fields,  but  few  people  in  Koopstad 
have  time  to  go  walking.  It  was  not  time  that  he  lacked, 
and  he  loved  these  wide  wanderings  into  the  vast  recesses 
of  Nature,  even  though  he  could  not  peer  and  poke,  as 
you  and  I  can,  into  her  unfathomed  mysteries.  Probably 
what  most  delighted  him  in  these  walks  was  the  conscious- 
ness of  using  his  strength.  Evidently,  he  could  not  ride 
or  shoot  or  run.  But  ho  could  walk,  on  an  attendant's 
arm,  away  into  the  immeasurable  distance,  on  and  on,  un- 
til he  came  home — blessed  sensation — healthily  tired. 
Johanna,  strong  and  hearty,  and  comely  as  ever,  could 
force  herself  to  accompany  her  darling.  And  when  the 
rage  of  inexhaustibleness  fell  upon  him,  as  it  sometimes 
would,  well,  then,  Johanna  must  stay  where  she  was,  and 
John  must  go  instead.  There  was  only  one  Johanna,  but — 
alas — there  was  a  frequent  variation  of  Johns.  They  never 
succeeded  in  getting  a  manservant  who  could  resist  the  con- 
tinual temptation  to  steal  from  Elias.  For  Elias  sanctioned 
every  theft. 

He  would  seldom  talk,  as  he  proceeded  on  his  way 
through  the  sweet  sights  and  smells  and  sensations  of  a 
summer  day.  The  smells  and  sensations  were  with  him, 
whatever  might  become  of  the  sights  and  sounds.  They 
were  with  him  in  such  a  degree  that  he  could  often  tell 
through  what  plantations  of  trees  or  what  fields  of  grain 
they  were  passing,  not  merely  by  stopping  to  feel  with  his 


A  PRINCE  AMONG   PAUPERS.  207 

hand,  but  by  distinguishing  a  variety  of  odours  which 
"  John "  dechired  to  be  the  same  unprofitable  "  country 
smell."  He  was  always  most  anxious  to  know  what  birds 
were  singing.  "  Do  you  hear  them  ?  "  "  What  birds  are 
they  ?  "  he  would  ask  over  and  over  again.  And  the  Jolm 
of  the  moment  usually  answered  :  Finches.  Elias  would 
fly  into  sudden  furies  of  futile  disappointment  over  that 
unaltering  reply.  A  couple  of  Johns  had  been  sent  away 
for  not  being  able  to  distinguish  between  finches  and 
blackbirds,  and  that  was  a  pity,  for  it  took  a  long  time  to 
accustom  a  new  man  to  Elias's  strange  forms  of  conversa- 
tion. And  the  whole  thing  was  after  all  more  a  theory 
than  a  reality  with  him,  for  he  knew  nothing  of  the  notes 
of  birds,  and  became  perfectly  happy  with  a  servant  who 
had  the  cuteness  to  vary  his  random  replies.  But  the 
afflicted  man  clung  to  the  idea — all  the  more  on  account  of 
its  shadowiness ;  he  made  most  of  what  little  he  could  pos- 
sess, and  to  hear  him  talk  glibly  about  the  trees  in  his  gar- 
den, you  would  hardly  have  thought  he  knew  only  a  couple 
of  dozen  of  the  commonest  kinds.  And  even  of  these  he 
could  not  remember  where  they  stood,  as  so  many  blind 
men  can.  It  was  the  same  with  the  corn  in  the  fields,  he 
must  have  some  assistance  from  touch  or  smell.  But  Jo- 
hanna, who  helped  him  in  these  things  to  the  uttermost, 
contended — to  strangers — that  of  late  the  senses  he  still 
possessed  had  developed  under  continual  use.  He  could 
now  distinguish  the  places  where  his  different  flowers  were 
planted  by  smelling  and  feeling  them.  They  were  pur- 
posely put  in  patches  or  broad  borders  of  the  same  species. 
It  was  a  great  ])leasure  to  him  to  feel  his  way  down  to  them 
alone,  and  to  pick  with  his  own  hand  and  blend  in  a  bou- 
quet such  selections  as  he  might  be  desirous  to  make. 

But  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  whole  bent  of  his 
crooked  mind  that  he  could  not  realize  the  fact  that  one 
servant  should  go  and  another  should  take  his  place.  They 
were  all  "  John  "  to  him,  for  so  the  first  one  had  been  called. 


208  GOD'S  FOOL. 

And  they  were  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  the  fiction.  On  the 
whole,  they  had  a  good  time  of  it,  as  long  as  it  lasted. 
Nothing  much  was  required  of  them,  except  a  pair  of  elastic 
legs.  For  Johanna  retained  with  jealous  hands  the  person- 
al care  over  her  "  Jasje,"  as  she  still  occasionally  called  him, 
and  the  man  who  was  rash  enough  to  encroach  upon  her 
privileges  might  as  well  advertise  for  another  place  at  once. 
They  danced  attendance  on  a  master  whose  pockets  were 
always  full  of  small  change,  which  he  scattered,  indiscrimi- 
nately, to  any  beggars  who  cared  to  accept  it,  and  a  good 
many  of  these  pieces  naturally  would  find  their  way  into 
the  valet's  itching  palm.  Johanna  had  in  vain  done  all  she 
could  to  persuade  her  charge  not  to  take  money  with  him 
on  his  walks,  except  when  she  could  accompany  him.  He 
had  refused,  peremptorily,  obstinately  refused — an  unusual 
thing  with  him.  He  had  reminded  her  that  it  had  been 
his  first — almost  his  only — stipulation  when  his  brothers 
told  him  he  was  rich,  that  he  must  have  a  certain  sum 
to  give  away.  He  had  begged  for  it,  cried  for  it ;  Hubert 
had  accorded  it  to  him.  It  was  only  a  thousand  florins 
(about  eighty  pounds),  a  mere  drop  from  the  ocean.  And 
every  day  he  took  with  him  a  hundred  copper  cents  in 
each  side-pocket,  and  gave  them  away  anyhow,  like  a  fool. 
Hendrik  "  administered  "  the  rich  man's  charities,  nothing 
exaggerating  and  nothing  setting  down  unseen.  On  the 
lists  which  went  the  round  of  all  the  great  houses  he  wrote 
the  substantial  name  of  "  Volderdoes  Zonen "  opposite 
large,  fat,  respectable  sums.  And  the  gentlemen  who 
brought  the  lists  were  very  much  obliged  to  Hendrik 
Lossell. 

They  sometimes  ventured  to  hint,  however,  that  his 
step-brother's  indiscriminate  scattering  of  pennies  was  a 
nuisance,  and  a  hindrance  to  the  proper  organization  of 
relief.  The  burgomaster,  duly  enlightened  by  his  parish 
officers,  complained  that  Elias  was  "  pauperizing  the  poor." 
It  was  true.     The  children  of  the  neighbouring  villages  be- 


A  PRINCE  AMONG  PAUPERS.  209 

gan  to  look  out  for  and  waylay  him.  Hendrik  shrugged 
his  shoulders.  He  regretted  it.  So  did  the  Johns.  And 
therefore  they  took  Elias's  pennies  away  from  him,  when 
they  could,  and  kept  them.  It  was  not  very  difficult  to  do 
so,  for  he  easily  lost  count. 

Burgomaster's  "  Tibbie  "  (Matthias),  having  a  passion 
for  sweet-stuff,  when  sticky,  had  also  hit  ujoon  the  in- 
genious expedient  of  tracking  the  blind  man  and  stopping 
him  for  a  copper.  The  first  time  he  did  it  very  timidly ; 
the  second  he  was  quite  bold  and  impatient.  For  evidently 
Elias,  unless  warned  by  his  John  (who  had  instructions  to 
do  so,  but  evaded  them),  was  incapable  of  knowing  you 
wanted  money,  unless  you  pulled  him  by  the  coat-tails. 
The  village  children  would  adopt  that  expedient,  or  roll  in 
the  dust  across  his  path.  They  scampered  off,  if  they  saw 
Johanna  with  "  the  fool."  Elias  got  no  thanks  for  his  well- 
intentioned  largesse ;  he  was  always  "  the  fool "  to  them. 
They  thought  him  a  fool  for  giving  them  coppers  without 
cause. 

Johanna,  having  suspected  "  Tibbie,"  caught  him  one 
day  by  peeping  round  a  corner.  She  told  somebody  who 
told  somebody  else,  and — Solomon  being  considered  al- 
together "  out  of  it  "  in  Holland  as  regards  "  pedagogy  " — 
tlie  Burgomaster  punished  his  greedy  offspring  by  con- 
demning him  to  complete  deprivation  of  pudding  for  the 
next  six  weeks. 

It  was  Elias's  fault.  Most  certainly  it  was.  Nobody 
will  deny  it.  But  the  Burgomasteress,  as  she  sat  sadly  gaz- 
ing upon  her  puddingless  darling  at  table,  hyper-realized, 
perhaps,  how  much  Elias  was  to  blame.  And  she  told  every- 
body. And  everybody  pitied  her,  and  the  poor  harmless 
child,  and  the  Burgomaster's  responsibility,  and  the  weight 
of  work  imposed  upon  tlie  parish  officers  and  the  church- 
charity  fund.  And  everybody  said  that  desultory  giving 
was  a  crying  evil,  and  that  it  "  pauperized  the  poor,"  and 
they  only  wished  they  had  some  of  Elias  Lossell's  useless 
14 


210  GOD'S  FOOL. 

money,  and  why  didn't  he  give  it  to  them,  if  he  didn't  know 
what  to  do  with  it? 

And  he  ought  to  be  locked  up. 

His  reputation,  therefore,  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  when 
he  suddenly  appeared  among  tlie  Koopstaders  on  the 
occasion  of  Hendrik  Lossell's  wedding.  Hubert  was  away 
in  China  ;  other  near  relations  there  were  none.  Elias,  the 
head  of  the  family,  must  represent  it.  He  could  not  be  one 
of  the  two  witnesses — groomsmen — whom  Dutch  law  re- 
quires for  either  of  the  contracting  parties,  but  he  must 
appear  in  the  "  family  circle  "  nevertheless.  He  expressed 
his  readiness — nay,  his  eagerness — to  do  so,  though  he  had 
not  been  near  the  bustling  city  for  years.  As  a  rule  he 
shrank  painfully  from  the  society  of  men  more  favoured 
than  he — and  who  was  not  ?  Walled  up  in  the  loneliness 
of  his  small  spot  of  tranquil  sunlight,  he  would  repeat  con- 
stantly to  Johanna  the  saw  her  devotion — or  her  selfish- 
ness—had taught  him  :  "  Two's  company,  three's  none." 
But  one  day,  suddenly,  he  stopped  himself.  "Am  I 
one,  Johanna?"  he  asked,  with  a  troubled  expression  of 
face. 

"  Yes,"  she  told  him. 

"I  can't  understand  it,"  he  murmured,  shaking  his 
head.  "  Seems  to  me  I'm  company,  and  two.  I'm  always 
thinking  of  Elias  Lossell,  and  talking  to  Elias  Lossell,  and  I 
love  Elias  Lossell  very  much.  Who  is  the  I,  Johanna,  that 
is  Elias  Lossell's  friend  ?  " 

Johanna  could  not  answer  him.  She  knew  about  the 
old  Adam,  and  the  new  man,  as  treated— abstractly— in 
church.  Some  vague  idea  that  these  might  come  in  useful 
floundered  across  her  brain.  But  she  did  not  feel  able  to 
cope  with  them,  and  therefore  she  confined  herself  to  tell- 
ing Elias  that  he  must  not  love  himself  more  than  he  loved 
her,  his  poor  old  nurse,  who  doted  on  him.  Elias  prom- 
ised not  to. 


A  PRINCE  AxMONG   PAUPERS,  211 

A  few  days  later  he  burst  upon  the  astonished  gaze  of 
Koopstad.  Hendrik's  wedding,  with  its  elements  of  wonder, 
amusement  and  complaint,  would  naturally  awaken  con- 
siderable curiosity.  The  large  Church  of  St.  John — 
"  Jack's,"  they  call  it  in  Koopstad,  as  elsewhere  in  Holland, 
for  the  Dutch  are  by  nature  religious,  but  not  reverent — 
"  Jack's  "  was  crowded  with  a  fashionable  crowd,  that  nodded 
and  smiled,  and  talked  in  more  than  a  whisper  and  kept  on 
its  hat  till  the  service  began.  All  the  clan  of  Hendrik's  re- 
lations were  there,  come  to  see  their  dear  cousin  make  an 
exhibition  of  himself,  and  rejoicing  that  it  should  be  so,  al- 
though annoyed  by  the  thought  of  the  fortune  which  would 
become  his  some  day.  And  the  Alerses,  for  their  part, 
spread  themselves  out  over  the  sacred  building  which  to 
them,  at  that  moment,  was  a  very  temple  of  Mammon.  It 
was  not  everybody  that  got  married  at  "Jack's."  And 
some  of  the  Alerses — cousins,  female,  of  course,  and  very 
young — felt  conscious  of  a  futile  hope — the  outcome  of  envy 
gone  demented — that  at  the  last  moment  Cornelia  might 
still  possibly  come  to  grief. 

"  There  are  a  number  of  people  here,"  grumbled  Cousin 
Cocoa's  lesser  half  to  his  sovereign  lady,  "  who  have  no 
reason  for  coming  at  all.  As  if  it  were  not  bad  enough  to 
be  dragged  to  a  wedding  on  compulsion.' 

"  You  may  be  certain,  my  dear  Titus,"  replied  our  old 
friend  Amelia  (in  a  new  lilac  bonnet,  and  therefore  not  un- 
happy, though  ashamed  of  her  cousin),  "  that  when  a  church 
is  as  crowded  as  this,  the  wedding  is  sure  to  be  an  ill- 
assorted  one." 

"  And  royal  weddings,  then?  "  faintly  ventured  the  cocoa- 
man. 

"  Royal  weddings  are  always  ill-assorted,"  answered 
Amelia,  whose  domestic  religion  consisted  in  having  the 
last  word. 

"When    Dutch    bridal    couples    enter  the  church,  they 


212  GOD'S  FOOL. 

have  already  been  civilly  married  before  the  registrar,  and 
the  bride  invariably  comes  up  the  aisle  on  her  husband's 
arm.  There  had  been  a  general  consensus  among  the 
ladies  that  Cornelia  would  look  "  hideous,"  "  ghastly  " — or 
Avhat  is  the  correct  adjective  which  a  pretty  woman  applies 
to  a  plain  one?  Oh,  of  course;  you  could  make  up  your 
mind  about  that.  But,  when  she  walked  calmly  up  between 
the  broad  borders  of  skeptically  smiling  faces  (she  had  on 
flat  shoes  for  the  occasion,  and  little  Henky  high-heeled 
boots),  she  disappointed  them  all.  "  She  was  not  half  bad," 
said  the  men,  "  serenely  self-conscious,  and  with  a  queenly 
look  about  her."  The  women  dropped  smiles  of  vinegar 
into  their  Avatery  praise  :  "  She  looks  ever  so  much  younger 
than  she  is,"  they  tittered.  "  She  looks  almost  as  young  as 
her  husband." 

Immediately  after  the  happy  pair  came  Elias,  leading — 
or,  rather,  led  by — Cornelia's  married  sister,  the  lady  of  the 
widower,  the  six  step-children  and  the  sixty  thousand  florins. 
As  he  emerged  from  the  entrance  into  the  full  glare  of  the 
vast,  white- walled,  white  -  windowed  barn-like  building,  a 
thrill  of  interest — a  genuine  impulse  of  spontaneous  excite- 
ment— ran  swiftly  through  the  ruffles  and  laces  and  simpers 
and  even  penetrated  to  the  yawns.  Many  of  those  present 
had  not  seen  Elias  since  he  was  a  boy ;  few  had  seen  him 
otherwise  than  once  or  twice  from  a  carriage,  when  they 
passed  him  on  some  quiet  road,  where  he  stood,  half-averted, 
under  a  slouch-hat  which  hid  his  face. 

But  now,  suddenly,  he  came  among  them ;  he  passed 
along  their  serried  lines,  where  outstretched  hands  could 
touch  him,  his  blindness  uplifted  in  the  vulgar  light  of  their 
little  day.  He  followed  imperceptibly  the  guiding  of  the 
woman  by  his  side.  That  evening-dress  which  the  Dutch 
still  commonly  wear  at  weddings  and  which  is  not  nearly  so 
unbecoming,  after  all,  as  some  enthusiasts  would  have  us 
believe  (the  man  who  looks  like  a  waiter  in  a  white  tie,  will 
look  like  a  groom  in  a  red  one),  that  evening-dress,  which, 


A  PRINCE  AMONG  PAUPERS.  213 

like  most  other  much-maligned  evils,  survives  all  attacks, 
sat  easily  and  not  ungracefully  on  Elias's  massive  frame. 
The  fair  curls  fell  in  a  bright  flood  over  his  shoulders,  and 
the  beard — no  razor  had  ever  touched  it — now  lay  soft  and 
silky  on  the  manly  chest.  His  golden  fairness  wrapped  the 
blind  man's  head  in  an  aureole  of  sunlight;  he  walked 
erect,  with  a  tranquil  purity  over  his  even  features,  and,  as 
he  turned  to  take  his  seat  in  the  half  circle  of  relations 
which  Dutch  etiquette  groups  around  the  two  principal 
personages,  his  sightless  eyes  shone  forth  in  all  their  fathom- 
less unconsciousness — as  cloud- veiled  lakes  of  dark  trans- 
parency— upon  the  Alerses  and  the  Lossells  and  all  their 
roots  and  fruits  and  branches,  upon  Koopstad,  moneyed 
and  mercantile,  majestic,  meritorious  and  mean. 

"  Lord  bless  us ! "  murmured  a  meagre  old  cousin  in 
black  satin,  one  of  those  cousins  we  are  all  afraid  of  and  ven- 
erate, because  she  can  leave  her  money  where  she  likes.  She 
closed  her  thin  hands  tightly  over  her  gold-clasped  hymn- 
book,  and  her  chin  shook.  The  younger  ladies  of  Koopstad 
did  not  exchange  satirical  glances.  They  were  looking  at 
Elias.     Everybody  had  forgotten  the  bride. 

They  were  looking  at  Elias.  Everyone  was  looking  at 
Elias.  At  the  back  of  the  church,  and  in  corners  and  along 
the  walls  people  had  got  up  and  were  standing  discreetly  on 
tiptoe  and  craning  their  necks  between  intervening  shoul- 
ders and  over  agitated  heads.  There  was  something  uncanny 
about  the  apparition  of  this  sunless  Baldur,  that  struck 
their  admiration  cold.  They  gazed  at  him  in  alarm  and 
reproach,  for  he  was  of  their  own  race  and  yet  outside  them, 
but  they  gazed,  fixedly,  unintermittently,  as  he  sank  into 
his  seat.  Very  few  of  them  saw  Hendrik  stumble  over  the 
footstool  prepared  for  his  bride.  And  still  fewer  saw  Cor- 
nelia's impatient  frown.  They  were  not  thinking  of  Cor- 
nelia.    They  were  tliinking  of,  and  looking  at,  Elias. 

And  suddenly  Elias  remembered,  with  a  shock  of  self- 
rebuke,  that  he  was  in  church.     He  had  not  been  in  church 


214  GOD'S  FOOL. 

for  innumerable  years.  He  sank  forward  abruptly  on  bis 
knees  and,  speaking  out  aloud  into  bis  own  unbroken 
silence  words  wbich  be  believed  to  be  entirely  inaudible, 
but  wbich  rang  clear  and  low  tbrougb  the  sacred  edifice  in 
the  subdued  tones  of  his  bell-like  voice,  he  said  : 

"  Dear  God,  bless  Hendrik  and  Cornelia.  And  bless 
me.  And  Hubert  out  in  China.  And  make  everybody 
happy  and  good." 


CHAPTEE  XXV. 

ELIAS  SLAYS   HIS  TEN  THOUSANDS. 

Next  day  a  number  of  the  young  ladies  of  Koopstad 
were  quietly  but  resolutely  in  love  with  Elias  Lossell. 

"  It  is  a  ruinous  pity,"  remarked  Hendrik's  Aunt 
Theresa,  the  same  who  afterwards  initiated  Cornelia  into 
the  mysteries  of  clanship,  "  it's  enough  to  make  any  mother 
cry  her  eyes  out,  and  such  things  ought  not  to  be  allowed. 
Idiots  oughtn't  to  be  born  to  such  fortunes  as  that,  and  then 
left  irretrievably  single.  If  they  can't  marry,  I  consider 
their  money  ought  to  be  taken  from  them  and  given  to 
someone  who  can." 

"  But,  my  dear,"  objected  her  husband,  "  it  seems  to  me 
you  are  condemning  dispensations " 

"  I  can't  help  it,  Edward  !  Don't  talk  to  me  of  dispen- 
sations. I  say  it  is  a  crying  shame.  What  use  is  all  this 
heaped-up  money  to  Elias?  He  is  a  fool.  And  he  is  not 
even — like  most  men — a  marriageable  fool." 

"  He  is  a  merchant-prince,"  said  Mynheer  Overdyk 
solemnly.  "  Nothing  can  alter  that."  He  spoke  the  words 
as  one  might  speak  in  church.  To  him  intellect  was  a  sec- 
ondary thing  altogether,  and  account-books  were  the  only 
books  of  account.  What  mattered  it  if  a  man  could  not 
read,  as  long  as  others  could  find  his  name  inscribed  on  the 
great  roll  of  the  National  Debt?  And  Elias's  signature, 
however  loosely  it  might  sprawl  across  the  paper,  was  still 
the  sign  manual  of  the  richest  "  koopman"  in  Koopstad. 

"  It  is  just  that  Avhich  aggravates  me,"   cried   Aunt 


216  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Tlieresa.  "  Here  lie  is  everything  who  ought  to  be  nothing, 
and  nothing  who  ought  to  bo  everything.  He  should  have 
been  neither  or  both  ;  you  iinderstand  what  I  mean.  And 
it  always  strikes  me  as  being  so  j)articularly  hard  upon  the 
other  two  boys,  who  now  just  miss  the  goal.  '  Half  achieved 
is  lost,'  as  the  proverb  says.  And  they  have  to  sit  down  all 
their  lives  long  and  look  at  the  apples  beyond  their  reach, 
like  Tantc — Tante — what  was  the  name? — Tante  Lize. 
Yes,  it  is  decidedly  exasperating,  and  I  repeat,  it  ought  not 
to  be  allowed." 

Mynheer  Overdyk's  commercial  integrity  objected  to 
this  view.  "  Oh  come,  Theresa,"  he  said  stolidly,  "  that  is 
nonsense,  you  know.  The  money  is  Volderdoes  money,  and 
the  business  is  a  Volderdoes  business,  and  Elias  is  the  last 
of  the  Volderdoes  blood.  Henk  and  Huib  have  no  right  to 
a  penny,  if  you  come  to  think  of  that.  Nor  would  they 
have  been  nearly  as  well  off  as  they  are  now,  supposing  your 
sister  Judith  had  been  Hendrik  Lossell's  first  matrimonial 
venture.  In  my  opinion  they  have  been  singularly  lucky, 
although  I  don't  deny  that  their  present  position  may  re- 
mind one  somewhat  of  Tantalus.  But  they  can  well  have 
the  decency,  at  any  rate,  to  wait  for  the  poor  fellow's  money, 
which  will  all  come  one  day  to  them  and  their  children,  just 
as  if  they  Avere  old  Elias's  offspring  instead  of  the  poor  blind 
fool.  I  often  laugh  to  think  what  a  rage  old  Elias  would 
have  been  in,  could  he  have  foreseen  how  matters  would  turn 
out.  But  let  Judith's  children  be  content  with  their  good 
fortune — aren't  they  in  the  business  already  ? — and  remem- 
ber they  have  no  right  to  a  cent." 

Yes,  the  money  was  rightfully  Elias's.  That  admission 
was  very  strongly  accentuated  in  Koopstad  commercial 
circles.  For  in  these  the  heredity  of  a  great  business-house 
with  its  goodwill  and  its  connections  and  its  hundred  and 
one  sources  of  money-breeding  was  as  firmly  established  a 
principle  as  the  reversion  to  a  title  or  an  entail.  These 
things  went  with  the  blood  for  ever  and  ever,  like  the  King's 


ELIAS  SLAYS  HIS  TEN  THOUSANDS.  217 

crown  by  the  grace  of  God.  People  might  talk  about  Hen- 
drik  and  Hubert,  and  acting  partners,  and  the  representa- 
tives of  the  business  here,  there  and  everywhere,  and  all  the 
rest  of  it ;  in  practical  life,  of  course,  everything  depended 
upon  who  had  the  right  to  sign  for  the  firm,  but,  theoreti- 
cally, none  of  the  older  merchants  ever  forgot  that  Elias 
alone  was  the  grandson  of  grumpy,  snuffy,  wealthy  old  Elias 
Volderdoes. 

"  All  the  same,  I  repeat  it  is  cruelly  hard  upon  every- 
body," persisted  Aunt  Theresa,  who  did  not  appreciate  her 
husband's  view,  she  not  having  come  into  the  family  on  the 
Volderdoes  side ;  "  and  I  maintain  that  it  oughtn't  to  be 
allowed." 

No,  it  oughtn't  to  be  allowed.  All  her  nieces  agreed 
with  Aunt  Theresa.  And  not  her  nieces  only,  but  a  good 
many  other  young  ladies,  especially  those  who  had  not  yet 
completed  their  education.  But  though  they  arrived  at  the 
same  conclusion,  they  reached  it  by  a  very  different  road. 
Public  feeling  ran  high  against  Hendrik  Lossell  among  the 
older  pupils  of  the  select  academies  for  young  ladies,  and 
even  in  the  labour-loaded  class-rooms  of  that  public  abom- 
ination, the  Girls'  High  School.  It  was  absolutely  im- 
possible, and  the  young  ladies  refused  to  believe  it,  that  a 
man  could  be  an  idiot  with  such  eyes  as  they  had  seen  beam 
forth  upon  the  disconcerted  congregation  of  "  St.  Jack's." 
Evidently  his  brothers  were  keeping  him  sequestrated  for 
the  sake  of  his  property.  It  was  the  old  story  of  the  Man 
with  the  Iron  Mask,  Avhom  only  unromantic  people  believed 
not  to  have  been  a  twin-brother  of  Louis  XIV.  Elias  was 
a  living  nineteenth  century  romance.  Anna  told  Agatha, 
and  Agatha  told  Anna.  They  excited  each  other  about  it 
until  all  the  facts  of  the  horrible  mystery  were  worked  out 
in  black  and  white.  In  one  school  Bella  van  Wreede,  the 
State  Prosecutor's  daughter,  was  put  into  Coventry  because 
she  had  refused  to  appeal  to  her  father  to  rescue  Elias.  She 
did  not  dare  to,  pleaded  Bella.     She  was  put  into  Coventry, 


218  GOD'S  FOOL. 

forthwith,  for  last  week's  "  subject "  had  told  her,  and  ought 
to  have  tauglit  her,  that  "  Cowardice  is  an  Accomplice  of 
Crime." 

It  must  not  be  hastily  concluded  that  the  enthusiasm  for 
Elias  was  confined  to  those  young  ladies  whose  hair  still  lay 
in  two  thick  cords  on  their  unwilling  backs.  They  who 
would  judge  thus  would  but  lightly  estimate  the  charms  of 
the  handsome  hero.  Nay,  indeed,  fair  maidens  with  their 
hair  "  done  up  " — which  head-dress  is  equivalent  to  a  hunt- 
ing-cap where  men  are  concerned,  and  means  that  the  chase 
has  begun  in  earnest — fair  maidens  who  were  "  out  "  and 
wore  low  dresses,  and  even  one  (as  I  happen  to  know)  who 
had  refused  an  eligible  oifer  because  she  wouldn't  live  with 
her  mother-in-law — not  only  giddy  girls,  therefore,  but  dis- 
creet young  women  of  the  world,  all  these  were  touched  with 
just  a  twinge  of  the  contagion.  They  called  it  the  "  Elias- 
fever  "  in  Koopstad.  It  was  very  disagreeable  for  Hendrik 
Lossell.  "  Have  you  got  the  Elias-fever  already  ?  "  said  one 
chit  to  another  in  a  crowded  tram,  unconscious  that  the 
little  gentleman  in  the  corner  was  the  tyrant  whom  she  ex- 
ecrated. "  I've  had  it,  but  I'm  better,"  replied  chit  No.  2. 
"  My  father  says  he  isn't  really  ill-treated,  but  has  a  beauti- 
ful carriage  to  drive  in,  and  my  father  says  that  his  brothers 
are  good  to  him,  and  don't  try  to  kill  him,  as  Jennie  de- 
clared the  other  day." 

"I  don't  believe  it "  began  her  companion  indig- 
nantly.    Hendrik  went  and  stood  outside. 

None  of  them  believed  it.  For  to  deny  that  Elias  was 
persecuted  would  have  been  like  throwing  water  on  the  can- 
dle by  which  young  Fervour  delights  to  read  the  world.  If 
there  were  no  wrongs,  there  would  be  no  romance.  And 
Elias's  wrongs  were  fortunately  intensely  romantic. 

It  was  not  an  opportunity  which  fact-frozen  young 
Koopstad  could  afford  to  waste. 

Effusions  and  floral  tributes  began  occasionally  to  arrive 
at  the  quiet  villa,  but  of  these  Johanna  made  short  work. 


ELIAS  SLAYS  HIS  TEN  THOUSANDS.  219 

She  threw  away  the  flowers  and  tore  up  the  notes.  She 
was  shocked  at  the  contents  of  some  of  those  queer  letters. 
One  young  lady  actually  offered  to  rescue  Elias  with  the  aid 
of  her  brother  and  a  good  conscience.  She  said  that  her 
brother  was  four  feet,  and  the  wall  only  five  feet  and  a  half. 
But  the  poetesses  Avere  the  most  enviable  of  all.  There 
are  a  good  many  of  them  in  Holland,  rhymes  being  too  easy 
in  Dutch,  and  prosody  too  difficult,  for  either  to  supply 
the  desirable  barrier.  Elias's  blindness  and  deafness,  his 
beauty,  his  unavailable  wealth,  all  these  provided  countless 
spurs  for  the  too-eager  Pegasus.  The  singers  would  apos- 
trophise their  idol  as  a  god  or  as  an  idiot,  according  as  they 
selected  him  for  an  object  of  their  praise  or  their  pity.  Ida 
Dorestan,  the  Dutch  Felicia  Hemans  —  who,  you  will  re- 
member, was  a  girl  at  that  time,  of  seventeen  or  eighteen 
summers — Ida  Dorestan  composed  a  sonnet  "  To  an  Eagle 
Maimed." 


« 


The  prisoned  eagle  will  not  pair,  and  you, 
Bound  to  your  loneliness  by  triple  chain 
Of  Darkness,  Silence,  Cruelty,  in  vain 

You  learn  that  happiness  is  born  of  two." 

I  forget  whether  that  was  the  beginning  or  the  end. 
The  matter  is  of  no  great  importance.  "  The  prisoned  eagle 
will  not  pair  " ;  that  was  the  beginning,  end,  and  middle  of 
the  business.  "  There  ought  to  be  no  iyisulated  fortunes," 
insisted  Tante  Theresa,  proud  of  the  word,  although  it  is 
just  possible  the  happy  shot  was  originally  aimed  at  "  iso- 
lated," "  and  if  there  must  be,  a  law  should  be  enacted  to 
restore  communication.  I  am  sure,  Edward,  that  I  am  ex- 
pressing myself  clearly.  Money  does  not,  I  consider,  belong 
to  an  individual,  not  even,  as  you  will  torment  me  with  old 
Yolderdoes,  to  a  family.  It  belongs  to  us  all,  the  better 
classes,  as  a  community,  and  we  are  collectively  and — what 
is  the  word? — solidarily  responsible  for  its  use  and  depend- 


220  GOD'S  FOOL. 

ent  upon  its  benefits.  "VVe  stand  and  fall  together,  we,  the 
people  with  white  hands." 

"  And  our  palms,  are  they  pure  too  ?  "  queried  young 
Isidor,  who  was  the  "  enfant  teri'ible  "  of  the  Overdyk  and 
van  Bussen  families.  It  was  his  mother's  fault.  She  had 
read  poetry  and  called  him  Isidor. 

But  nobody  attended  to  him.  "  Only,  my  dear  Theresa," 
interposed  Mevrouw  Amelia  van  Bussen,  who  was  present, 
"  it  appears  to  me  that  is  a  very  uncomfortable  theory.  It 
seems  to  make  one  so  promiscuously  accountable  for  other 
people's  shortcomings.  Don't  you  think  we  must  all  stand 
or  fall  by  our  own  merits  ?  You  can't  cover  an  inferior 
article  with  the  prestige  of  your  name !  " 

"  She  is  thinking  of  her  cocoa,"  whispered  Isidor  in  a 
disgusted  aside  to  his  cousin  Adelheid.  Adelheid  frowned. 
She  liked  Isidor,  but  she  did  not  approve  of  levity  in  con- 
nection with  articles  of  commerce.  She  was  forty ;  she  had 
been  born  in  Koopstad  seventeen  years  ago. 

"  You  misapprehend  me,  my  dear,"  replied  Aunt  Theresa 
mildly.  She  was  always  mild.  Everything  in  the  dear  old 
lady  remained  unruffled,  except  her  throat  and  wrists.  "  I 
do  not  mean  that  we  are  morally  accountable,  but  socially 
we  can  hardly  help  ourselves,  I  fear.  The  sins  of  the  indi- 
vidual are  set  down  to  the  class,  and  when  one  of  us  goes 
astray  " — a  keen  glance  at  Isidor — "  the  crowd  cries  :  '  Look 
at  the  Patricians  ! '  " 

"  And  how  many  of  us  are  what  we  call  ourselves  ? " 
asked  Isidor  impatiently.  "  Genuine  hereditary  Patri- 
cians ?  " 

"  You  are,  Isidor,  for  one,  and  therefore  it  is  rude  of  you 
to  allude  to  the  subject.  Trust  you  Eadicals  to  stickle  for 
rank.  And  I  am,  also.  But  you  need  not  insult  the  van 
Bussens,  who  are  a  highly  respectable  family  too." 

And  then  there  arose  a  general  combustion  in  which 
Elias  Lossell  dropped  altogether  out  of  sight. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HENDRIK   LOSSELL'S    FIRST   STEP. 

Hendrik  Lossell  found  his  half-brother  in  the  green- 
house which  formed  the  blind  man's  daily  delight.  It  was 
a  bright,  sunshiny  morning  in  early  spring.  A  holy  calm 
lay  over  the  lonely  little  villa,  with  its  trim  garden — still 
half  asleep — and  newly  constructed  stables.  Everything 
was  neat  and  taut,  well-built,  Avell-painted,  well-kept.  Eor 
to  that  Johanna  saw — from  seven  in  the  morning  till  eleven 
at  night.  And  Hubert  would  write  and  ask — from  far  away 
— if  the  horses  were  healthy,  and  what  flowers  there  were  in 
the  conservatory,  and  if  Elias  thought  the  dovecot  could 
last  another  year.  These  Chinese  letters  constituted  a 
periodically  returning  Great  Event  in  Elias's  life.  They 
were  addressed  to  him,  to  him  personally. 

Den  Wei  Edel  Gehoren  Heer^ 

Den  Heer  Elias  Lossell, 

Villa . 


Hush,  I  am  growing  too  explicit.  We  shall  have  you 
Avriting  to  that  now  desolate  house  near  Koopstad — flourish- 
ing, flustering,  blustering  Koopstad,  which  has  not  for- 
gotten Elias  Lossell  yet. 

Johanna  would  read  him  the  letter,  passing  off  the  words 
on  his  hands  or  neck.  And  Elias,  having  drunk  in  its  con- 
tents, would  keep  it  by  him  through  the  day,  and  ask  to 
have  it  re-read  from  time  to  time.     As  long  as  he  held  it  in. 


222  GOD'S  FOOL. 

his  hand,  he  would  remember  its  separate  individuality,  but, 
once  it  was  laid  with  the  others,  it  dropped  into  a  common 
chaos  of  indistinctness.  He  forgot  the  news  it  had  conveyed, 
and  such  news,  therefore,  would  bear  repetition.  One  of 
the  knottiest  and  most  vexatious  questions  of  Johanna's 
otherwise  simple  moral  life  was  this,  whether,  when  the  post 
was  delayed,  she  might  read  to  Elias  an  old  letter,  as  if  it 
were  new  ?  She  could  easily  do  so,  and  it  furnished  him 
Avith  much  innocent  enjoyment.  She  longed  to  have  suffi- 
cient immoral  courage  to  perpetrate  the  deception. 

Hubert  wrote  once  a  month,  as  a  rule.  And  presently 
came  kind  messages  from  the  English  girl  he  was  going  to 
make  his  wife  out  there,  and  then  "  love  from  Margaret " 
in  every  letter,  or  "  Maggie  sends  her  kindest  love." 

On  the  day  when  the  first  message  from  "  Margaret " 
reached  him,  Elias  sat  silent  and  thoughtful  for  many  hours. 
"  Margaretha,"  as  Johanna  read  it.  It  had  been  his  mother's 
name.  He  could  not  remember  his  mother,  but  he  remem- 
bered, or  rather  he  knew,  about  her.  Johanna  had  kept  the 
recollection  before  him  as  an  ever-present  fact.  The  de- 
funct Judith  had  been  Elias's  conception  of  "  Mamma."  To 
distinguish  between  this  imitation  article  and  the  genuine 
jewel,  Johanna  (who  felt  no  love  towards  the  step-parent) 
had  devised  for  the  dead  woman  the  name  of  "  Mother  Mar- 
garetha." She  taught  her  charge  to  reverence  the  words, 
and  Elias,  who  was  still  conscious  of  the  faded  brightness 
of  his  early  youth,  was  quite  willing  to  connect  it  with  the 
name  of  his  departed  mother.  "  Love  from  Margaretha." 
"  Mother  Margaretha."  The  similar  sounds  jingled  through 
his  brain  all  day.  He  found  it  difficult  to  keep  them  apart. 
Who  was  this  Margaretha  whom  his  brother  had  married, 
and  who  was  sending  him  her  love  ?  He  knew  who  "  Mar- 
garetha "  was.  He  had  always  known.  Why  had  Hubert 
married  Margaretha? 

Johanna  watched  his  troubled  face  and  wondered  what 
dilemma  was  tormenting  him.    "  Oh,  nothing,"  he  answered, 


HENDRIK  LOSSELL'S  FIRST  STEP.  223 

when  she  asked.  The  perplexity,  however,  still  lingered 
over  his  brow.  He  felt  as  if  he  could  not  bring  this  puzzle 
to  Johanna  for  solution.     He  was  afraid  of  her  reply. 

"  How  de  do,  Elias  ?  "  said  Hendrik  mechanically,  feeling 
for  his  step-brother's  hand  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers.  He 
looked  up  into  the  blind  man's  face,  impatient  of  the  per- 
petual barrier  between  them.  He  was  always  oppressed  in 
Elias's  presence  by  a  sense  of  his  own  physical  littleness  and 
overwhelming  intellectual  superiority.  "  How  is  he,  Johan- 
na?" he  asked.  "Well  and  happy?  Poor  chap!"  And 
he  turned  restlessly  on  his  heel,  and  recalled  how  tiresome 
Cornelia  had  been  that  morning. 

"  Mynheer  is  quite  well,  thank  you,  Meneer  Hendrik," 
replied  Johanna,  without  effusion.  She  might  sometimes 
address  her  charge  as  "  Elias  "  or  even  "  Jasje  "  ;  she  invari- 
ably spoke  of  him  to  everyone — master  or  servant — as  Myn 
Heer,  dividing  the  two  syllables — with  lingering  affection. 
All  other  gentlemen  were  simply  "  Meneer,"  and  the  two 
step-brothers,  somehow,  were  not  "  Meneer  Lossell."  They 
were  "  Meneer  Hendrik,"  and  "  Meneer  Hubert,"  as  in  the 
days  of  their  youth — a  point,  one  of  many,  on  which  they 
did  not  agree  with  Johanna. 

The  distinction,  here  indicated,  might  be  compared  to 
the  difference  in  English  between  "  My  Lord  "  and  "  Me 
Lud,"  only  that  Meneer  is  almost  universal  in  Dutch  as  pro- 
nunciation of  the  word  Mynheer.  Compare,  in  French, 
M'sieu  and  Monsiegneur. 

"  Myn  Heer  is  well,"  said  Johanna,  and  she  stooped  over 
Elias,  who  stood  half-averted,  busy  with  his  flowers,  and 
told  him  that  his  brother  was  come  to  see  him. 

"  I  know,"  answered  Elias  a  little  testily,  turning  his 
sightless  eyes  towards  the  place  where  Hendrik  stood.  And, 
indeed,  it  was  true  that  he  knew,  for  he  had  retained,  and 
even  developed,  the  faculty  of  perceiving  the  presence  of 
living  things  in  his  immediate  vicinity.     It  was  a  nervous 


224  GOD'S  FOOL. 

perception,  probably,  although  he  said  that  he  felt  "  the 
tremble  in  the  air."  And  with  the  few  who  formed  his  own 
little  circle  a  touch,  especially  of  the  hand — was  it  the  shape 
he  recognized  ? — would  enable  him  to  distinguish  one  from 
the  other. 

"  I  know,"  he  repeated.  And  then  he  began  speaking 
to  Hendrik  about  a  subject  which  just  now  was  engrossing 
all  his  attention.  Johanna  had  told  him  that  morning 
that  his  two  canaries  were  making  preparations  for  breed- 
ing. That  meant  that  there  would  be  little  canaries  some 
day — his  own,  not  bought  from  somebody  else,  but  his  own, 
a  very  different  matter.  And  one  of  these  he  would  pre- 
sent to  Cornelia.  Did  Hendrik  think  Cornelia  would  like 
to  have  a  canary  ?    He  "  paused  for  a  reply." 

He  did  not  often  do  so,  the  nature  of  his  affliction  un- 
avoidably pushing  him  in  the  direction  of  monologue.  No 
one  could  converse  with  him  as  easily  as  Johanna.  His 
brothers  had  learned  slowly  to  spell  out  occasional  sentences, 
but  the  deaf  man  would  grow  impatient  of  their  evident 
painstaking,  and  complain  that  they  tired  him,  or  tickled 
him,  or  that  they  always  said  the  same  things. 

He  talked  on  without  asking  himself  whether  he  wearied 
tlicm.  That,  partly,  was  Johanna's  fault,  because  he  never 
wearied  Johanna.  He  delighted  in  talking,  when  the  mood 
came  upon  him,  but  often  he  would  sit  silent  for  long,  slow 
hours,  too  tired  to  talk.  For  his  brain  was  fitful,  and  his 
powers  seemed  to  alternate  between  activity  and  repose 
even  in  those  moments  when  he  was  physically  awake. 
Suddenly — unreasonably  you  might  think,  for  there  was 
not  always  an  impulse  from  the  outside — he  would  rouse 
himself  and  begin  to  speak.  And  those  who  listened — as 
Hendrik  was  doing  now — might  well  grow  weary  after  a 
while — for  he  spoke  slowly,  laboriously,  seeking  for  words 
which  seemed  to  have  slipped  from  their  accustomed  cor- 
ners, and  occasionally  stopping  altogether,  when  some  par- 
ticular expression  was  lost  for  good  and  all. 


HENDRIK  LOSSELL'S  FIRST  STEP.  225 

In  such  cases  Johanna  would  quickly  come  to  his  assist- 
ance, but  the  brothers  would  hesitate — uncomfortably — 
between  probably  avoidable  annoyance  and  possibly  un- 
necessary relief. 

"  I  shall  like  to  have  canaries  of  my  own,"  said  Elias, 
"  and  I  wonder  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  distinguish  their 
singing  from  that  of  the  old  ones.  I  can  always  hear,  you 
know,  Hendrik,  when  the  birds  in  my  room  begin  to  sing, 
and  I  like  the  canaries'  singing  much  better  than  the 
cockatoo's." 

"  It  is  a  delusion  of  Myn  Heer's,"  interrupted  Johanna 
— if  it  can  be  called  interruption — "  that  Myn  Heer  can 
always  distinguish.  You  must  leave  it  to  him,  if  you  please, 
Meneer  Hendrik.  But  he  certainly  knows  if  the  room  is 
silent  or  not." 

"  And  then  there  is  the  other  bird,"  Elias  continued, 
"  the  bird  that  John  brought  home  for  me  the  other  day. 
The — the — what  is  its  name?  Tell  Hendrik,  Johanna,  and 
me  too.     Tell  me,  quick  !  " 

Johanna  told  him.  "  Nightingale."  "  '  The  other  day ' 
is  six  weeks  ago,"  she  explained  to  Hendrik.  "  You  re- 
member his  nightingale.  It  died  the  day  before  yesterday. 
I  have  not  dared  to  tell  him.  He  understands  nothing, 
poor  dear,  of  death." 

"  What  would  you  have  ?  "  said  Hendrik  bitterly.  "  He 
is  an  idiot."  The  air  of  the  greenhouse  seemed  stifling  to 
him.  He  cast  impatient  glances  around.  In  his  irritable 
mood  he  wished  he  had  not  come. 

Johanna  bit  her  tongue,  as  a  punishment  for  having 
run  away  Avith  her.  For  the  first  rule  of  her  programme, 
so  to  speak,  was  invariably  to  represent  Elias  to  his  step- 
brothers as  far  more  intelligent  and  clear-headed  than  in 
the  bottom  of  her  heart  she  could  acknowledge  him  to  be. 
He  never  did  anything  "un-stupid,"  without  her  telling 
them  how  clever  he  was. 

"  I  mean,"  she  began  hastily,  "  that  he  can't  understand 
15 


226  GOD'S  FOOL. 

how  people  he  goes  on  loving  should  have  ceased  to  exist. 
It  is  a  puzzle,  Meneer  Hendrik,  and  has  tired  out  stronger 
brains  than  Myn  Ileer's,  as  I  was  reading  to-day  before 
eight  days  (i.  e.  last  Sunday)  in  the  pious  dissertations  of 
the  blessed  Ureliag.  Only  yesterday  Myn  Heer  asked  after 
his  father.  It  is  remarkable  what  differences  he  makes. 
He  never  asks  after  Mevrouw  your  departed  mother,  that  is 
so  recently  dead." 

This  was  Johanna's  revenge,  sharp  and  swift. 

"  You  have  not  seen  my  azaleas,  Hendrik,"  continued 
Elias,  with  a  slight  stumble  over  the  word,  which,  by  the 
bye,  he  pronounced  "  azaleas."  He  mispronounced  a  num- 
ber of  words — especially  as  regards  accent — from  never  hav- 
ing heard  them  spoken,  and  for  want  of  a  better  teacher 
than  Johanna.  He  led  the  way  towards  the  corner  where 
the  flowers  were  grouped.  "  They  are  fine,  are  they  not? 
This  pink  one  with  the  red  stripes  is  an  especial  beauty,  I 
think  " — he  touched  it  as  he  spoke.  "  There  is  not  another 
so  full  at  this  moment.  But  when  the  white  ones  come  out 
at  the  back,  we  shall  have  a  yet  grander  display." 

Laboriously  he  stumbled  over  the  sentences,  pointing  as 
he  did  so.  He  was  repeating  a  conversation  he  had  had 
several  times  with  Johanna  that  very  morning,  and  often 
on  preceding  days.  Those  who  heard  him  talk  thus  cor- 
rectly, could  form  but  the  faintest  idea  what  patient  labor 
it  required  to  teach  him  the  little  he  knew. 

He  passed  slowly  down  the  conservatory,  guiding  him- 
self with  one  hand  between  the  high  stands  which  left  but 
a  narrow  gangway  for  his  broad  figure,  and  drawing  Hen- 
drik's  attention,  as  he  went,  to  this  flower  and  that.  "  Isn't 
that  lovely  ?  "  he  repeated,  "  and  that  one,  up  there,  the  pale 
mauve  creeper — the  new  creeper  is  up  there,  isn't  it,  Jo- 
hanna ?  "  Sometimes  he  would  lose  his  bearings,  and  make 
mistakes,  much  to  Johanna's  secret  vexation,  though  she 
took  care  not  to  correct  him  in  Hendrik's  presence.  Hen- 
drik did  not  always  notice  the  mistakes,  his  attention  would 


HENDRIK  LOSSELL'S  FIRST  STEP.  227 

wander  away  from  his  step-brother's  slow  drawl  to  his  own 
troubles  at  home.  And  in  this  manner,  following  each  other 
step  by  step,  and  pausing  every  now  and  then,  as  Elias 
waited  to  pick  a  floAver  for  the  nosegay  he  was  putting  to- 
gether for  Cornelia,  they  made  the  tour  of  the  greenhouse 
and  came  back  towards  the  little  square  entry,  in  which  a 
seat  had  been  arranged  between  the  double  glass  doors.  "  I 
must  get  some  of  the  early  pinks  for  my  bouquet,"  said 
Elias.  "  They  are  in  a  separate  frame  just  opposite  the 
seat.  And,  oh,  Hendrik,  you  must  look  at  these  tiny  things  " 
— he  turned  hastily,  to  the  right  instead  of  to  the  left,  and 
stopped  before  the  spreading  leaves  of  a  stately  palm.  "  They 
are  queer  little  creatures,  are  they  not  ?  Tor — Tor — some- 
thing the  gardener  calls  them — just  like  little  old  ladies,  I 
tell  people,  with  those  two  stiff  curls  on  each  side  of  the 
face."  He  stretched  out  his  hand  and  struck  it  against  one 
of  the  palm-leaves.  An  expression  of  petulant  dismay  broke 
over  his  face.  "  Johanna !  "  he  cried,  "  Johanna !  "  The 
old  woman  led  him  gently  to  where  the  Torrenias  stood  in 
pots  on  the  other  side. 

Hendrik  burst  into  a  guffaw  as  the  blind  man's  hand 
came  into  contact  with  the  tree.  It  was  not  an  outbreak  of 
ill-nature,  but  of  embarrassment  and  irritation,  a  sudden 
flare-up  of  scorn,  not  of  Elias,  but  of  everybody  and  every- 
thing. He  was  in  one  of  those  moods  when  a  man  laughs 
and  a  woman  cries.    And  his  laugh  was  not  pleasant  to  hear. 

Jolianna,  however,  resented  it  as  an  insult — a  blow — to 
the  defenceless  man  by  their  side.  She  hurried  Elias  away, 
throwing  her  arm  around  him — or  as  much  as  she  could 
reach  of  him — in  a  vain  attempt  to  shield  her  charge  against 
outrage,  and,  while  she  spread  out  her  hand,  as  if  to  ward 
off  an  enemy,  she  cast  one  furious  glance  at  Hendrik  Los- 
sell.  But  Elias  refused  to  be  protected  he  knew  not  why. 
"  Don't,  Johanna,"  he  said,  "  I  want  to  show  Hendrik  the 
little  old  ladies.  I  wasn't  attending  to  what  I  was  saying 
when  I  lingered  by  the  palms." 


228  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Let  me  take  his  hand,"  muttered  Hendrik,  ashamed — 
before  the  servant — of  his  laugh.  The  two  brothers  sat 
down  on  the  garden-seat  in  the  entry.  It  was  much  cooler 
there  than  in  the  conservatory,  and  Hendrik,  from  where  he 
eat,  could  get  a  full  view  of  the  house  and  grounds  under 
the  light  of  the  bright  spring  day.  Johanna  left  them  for 
a  short  time,  called  away  by  a  servant,  and  Elias  went  on 
talking,  of  his  flowers,  and  his  birds  and  the  horses,  which 
he  did  not  care  to  use,  but  liked  to  pat,  and  all  his  little, 
little  peaceful  world.  Hendrik  barely  listened.  His  rest- 
less eyes  wandered  away  from  his  brother's  tranquil  face 
over  all  the  quiet  comfort  of  his  surroundings.  He  felt — 
with  a  lull  of  satisfaction — that  no  one  could  deny  that  he 
and  Hubert  did  their  duty  to  the  wretched  idiot  whom  fate 
had  cast  as  an  obstacle  across  their  path.  In  this,  surely, 
they  could  challenge  public  opinion.  Elias  lived  in  com- 
parative luxury.  He  had  his  small,  but  admirably  adapted, 
villa,  his  carriage,  his  servants,  his  gardens,  and  hot-houses. 
Everything  his  simple,  and  naturally  restricted,  tastes  de- 
sired was  obtained  for  him.  His  household,  despite  Jo- 
hanna's admirable  management,  cost  a  considerable  annual 
sum — the  gardens  were  a  heavy  item — and  this  expenditure 
only  seemed  insignificant  because  the  man's  wealth  was  so 
disproportionate  to  his  requirements.  A  smile  played  about 
Hendrik's  thin  lips — or  was  it  a  scowl  ?— as  he  thought  of 
the  young  ladies  of  Koopstad  and  their  inconsequent  hero- 
worship,  and  recalled  the  school-girl  conversation  he  had 
overheard  in  the  tram-car.  His  look  rested  on  the  miserable 
wreck  beside  him,  now  sunk  into  silence,  and  immovable  in 
its  inaccessibility  as  a  block  of  wood  or  stone.  No,  decidedly, 
Hubert  and  he  did  their  duty,  more  than  their  duty,  by  their 
idiot  brother. 

Elias  was  tired.  The  intensity  of  brain-life,  so  to  say, 
which  his  brother's  visit  had  called  forth,  had  spent  itself, 
and  a  numbness  had  succeeded.  That  was  always  more  or 
less  the  case  when  anything  stimulated  him,  for  his  con- 


HENDRIK  LOSSELL'S  FIRST  STEP.  229 

sciousness  existed — if  I  may  avail  myself  of  the  expression 
— in  flickers.  It  could  not  burn  serenely  for  any  length  of 
time. 

He  laid  his  hand  on  his  step-brother's  knees,  and  so  they 
sat  on  through  the  still  Sabbath  morning,  the  one,  enfolded 
in  a  cloud  of  mist,  the  other  awake,  alert,  impatient,  every 
nerve  a-tingle  with  some  cause  of  complaint  against  God. 

They  had  been  sitting  thus  for  some  time,  when  Hen- 
drik  abruptly  seized  Elias's  hand. 

"Are  you  happy,  Elias?"  he  spelled  awkwardl}',  but 
with  ultimate  success. 

"Very  happy,"  answered  Elias.  "Why  not?  I  have 
everything  I  want.  And  people  are  very  good  to  me.  Yes, 
I  am  happy,  though  often  I  should  like  to  be  able  to  see — 
and  hear.  But  not  as  badly  as  I  used  to  long  ago.  I  should 
like  to  meet  Hubert  again,  and  papa,  and  Mother  Marga- 
retha.  Don't  you  think  it  a  great  pity,  Hendrik,  that  they 
all  went  away  so  far  ?  " 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Hendrik  was  walking  back 
briskly  in  the  direction  of  home.  But  his  briskness  was 
not  the  activity  of  health  as  much  as  of  disease.  He  was 
swayed  to  and  fro,  and  borne  irresistibly  onward  by  an 
ever-increasing  tempest  of  discontent.  His  visit  to  Elias 
had  not  had  the  effect  he  expected  from  it.  It  had  not 
warmed  his  heart  by  an  increase  of  affection ;  it  had  not 
even — and  who  knows  but  that  he  had  unconsciously  half- 
hoped  for  such  a  result  ? — cheered  his  discomfort  by  the 
spectacle  of  an  affliction  far  greater  than  his  own. 

On  the  contrary,  he  envied  Elias. 

He  envied  him  his  reposeful,  sheltered,  irresponsible 
ease.  He — in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  and  the  anxiety, 
the  heat  and  cold  of  daily  existence — he  turned  wistful  eyes 
towards  the  quiet  sunlit  bay,  where  Elias's  ship  lay  anchored 
for  ever — outside,  and  beyond,  the  stream. 

And  he  envied  the  miserable  fool,  his  brother. 


230  GOD'S  FOOL. 

He  looked  down  at  the  posy  he  was  carrying  in  his  hand. 
A  bunch  of  flowers,  red  and  white — "  Only  those  two  col- 
ours," Elias  had  said,  "  I  like  the  colours  in  my  bouquets  to 
go  well  together."  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  had  not 
been  blind  from  his  birth. 

A  present  from  Elias  to  Cornelia. 

Suddenly — in  an  unreasoned  movement  of  "  depit " — he 
twirled  the  flowers  from  him  into  a  ditch  by  the  roadside. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

AIGKE-DOUX. 

"  I  AM  come  to  remind  you  of  your  pledge,  Cornelia," 
said  Alers.  "  You  kuow  that  you  promised  to  help  me 
when  you  could,  in  return  for  my  procuring  you  the  hus- 
band of  your  choice." 

"  I  wish  you  wouldn't  come  here,  Thomas,"  replied  Cor- 
nelia. "  You  know  that  Hendrik  doesn't  care  to  meet  you, 
and  you  might  have  the  good  sense  to  stop  away  when 
you're  not  wanted." 

"  But  if  it's  not  you  who  want  me,  it  is  I  who  want  you," 
pleaded  Thomas.  "  How  do  you  think  I  can  live  without 
my  dear  little  sister  ?  My  sweet  little  Eoman-nosed  sister, 
that  was  a  mother  to  me  in  the  days  of  my  youth  ?  " 

"  Do  you  begin  with  fooling  ?  "  said  Cornelia  angrily. 
*'  I  am  not  so  much  older  than  you,  Tom.  And  if  I  am,  I 
must  be  proportionately  wiser " 

"  It  doesn't  follow,"  interrupted  Thomas. 

"  And  therefore  I  advise  you  to  go,"  she  continued 
coolly.  "  Hendrik  has  grown  obligingly  distinct  in  his 
utterances,  the  honeymoon  being  over,  and  he  had  the 
kindness  to  inform  me  the  other  day  that  you  were  a  cad, 
and  that,  if  he  found  you  in  the  house,  he  would  kick  you 
downstairs." 

"  He  !  "  said  Alers  scornfully.  The  young  lawyer  was 
tall  and  slight,  but  wiry  and  active,  an  altogether  different 
man  from  skinny  Ilenky  Lossell. 

"  I  cannot  imagine  why  he  has  taken  so  violent  a  dislike 


232  GOD'S  FOOL. 

to  you,"  continued  Cornelia,  looking  out  of  the  window, 
and  toying  with  the  tassel  of  an  easy-chair.  "  But  as  it  is 
the  case,  you  had  better  wait  till  the  storm  blows  over.  I 
dare  say  he  will  want  you  for  something  or  other  in  time," 

"  That's  just  it,"  replied  her  brother.  "  I  want  him — 
don't  you  see  ? — as  I  said  a  minute  ago.  Come,  Corry,  you 
never  were  shabby.  I  saw  him  go  down  towards  the  Old 
Town  Gate.  I  don't  doubt  he  is  off  to  spend  the  morning 
with  his  poor  dear  brother.  You  may  as  well  listen  to  me 
before  he  comes  back."  He  threw  himself  negligently  on  a 
lounge  without  awaiting  further  permission.  "It  is  too 
bad,"  he  went  on,  "  that  a  man  should  be  hunted  out  of  his 
brother-in-law's  house  in  this  manner.  And  for  nothing 
else  too  but  for  benefiting  other  people  without  any  advan- 
tage to  himself." 

"  And  do  you  often  do  that  ?  "  queried  Cornelia  mock- 
ingly- 

"  Cornelia,  you  are  ungrateful.  One  can  indeed  see  that 
the  honeymoon  is  past." 

"  Well,  never  mind.  Tell  me  what  you  want,  and  be 
quick  about  it." 

"  Want ! "  repeated  Thomas  reflectively.  "  How  often 
we  have  used  that  word  since  I  came  into  the  room."  His 
sister  made  an  impatient  movement,  but  to  this  he  paid  no 
attention.  "  Yes,"  he  continued ;  "  we  all  want  each  other, 
constantly,  and  continuously.  And  my  need  of  your  help 
for  one  thing,  and  your  need  of  mine  for  another,  is  at  the 
bottom,  I  suppose,  of  all  the  loves  and  affections  and  friend- 
ships, or  whatever  their  various  names  may  be." 

"  You  are  as  prosy,"  said  Cornelia  with  an — artificial — 
yawn,  "  as  if  you  were  going  to  ask  me  for  money,  which, 
unfortunately  for  us  both,  I  haven't  got." 

"  Corry,  you  are  a  genius.  With  your  quick  Avit  you  at 
once  perceive  that  the  universal  '  want '  of  one  another  can 
always  be  reduced  to  money's  worth.  It  is  the  common  de- 
nominator ;  is  that  not  what  we  used  to  call  the  thing  at 


AIGRE-DOUX.  233 

school?  You  and  I  are  friends,  for  instance,  friendship 
represented  by  unknown  quantity  X,  reducible  to  defi- 
nite sum,  certainly  existing,  though  probably  undiscover- 
able.  Commercial  relations,  say,  on  my  side.  Value  nine- 
teen and  twopence.  Social  connections  on  yours.  Value 
thirteen  and  four.  My  love  accordingly  greater  than  yours 
to  the  tune  of  five  and  ten.  It's  very  seldom  we  can  state 
the  figures,  but  our  perceptions  are  to  blame  for  that,  not 
nature's  clear  arithmetic," 

"  How  palpably  false  !  "  replied  Cornelia  listlessly.  "  But 
if  you  consider  it  correct,  as  I  certainly  am  the  fonder  of  the 
two,  yoit  had  better,  instead  of  asking  for  money,  pay  me 
the  difference  in  cash." 

"  I  have  not  asked  for  money  yet,  dearest ;  excuse  my 
pointing  that  out  to  you.  And,  in  fact,  the  object  of  my 
coming  is  not  to  empty  Lossell's  pockets,  but  to  fill 
them." 

"  Eeally  ?  "  said  Cornelia.  "  The  result,  I  fancy,  is  the 
same." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  you  spiteful  creature  ?  " 

"  I  am  only  a  poor  ignorant  woman,  Tom,  but  I  have 
seen  enough  of  the  world  to  know  that  nothing  comes  more 
expensive  in  it  than  having  one's  pockets  filled  by  another 
man." 

"  Don't  be  epigrammatic,  Corry.  It's  ugly  in  a  woman 
under  fifty.  And  you're  not  fifty  yet,  whatever  you  may 
look." 

"  Ah,  that's  right,"  retorted  Cornelia,  flushing.  "  I  like 
you  best  like  that,  Tom.  I'm  always  afraid  of  you  when 
you  go  in  for  courtesy  and  '  my  dear  '-ing,  but  when 
you  get  frankly  rude  again,  then  we  understand  each 
other." 

"  My  dear  girl,  I  don't  want  to  be  disagreeable,  I  can 
assure  you.  I  merely  thought  I  was  complimenting  you  on 
your  good  looks.  You  wear  well,  Cornelia.  Everybody 
said  so  in  church,  when  you  were  married,  and  I  suppose  it 


234  GOD'S  FOOL. 

is  pleasant  to  know  that  people  notice  it.     Let  us  talk  of 
something  else." 

"Yes,  let  us  talk  of  something  else,"  said  Cornelia, 
ignoring  her  brother's  final  thrust.  "  Look  here,  Thomas,  if 
I  read  the  meaning  of  all  this  superfluous  chatter  aright,  it 
indicates  that  you  have  nothing  particular  to  say  to  me,  but 
that  you  want  me  to  allow  you  to  wait  here  quietly  till  Hen- 
drik,  who  denies  his  door  to  you,  comes  home  and  finds  you 
in  the  house.     Is  that  not  it  ?  " 

"  To  beard  the  lion  in  his  den,  in  fact,"  answered  Alers, 
with  a  sneer.  "  My  dear  Cornelia,  you  are  gifted  with  sec- 
ond sight.  I  wish  you  were  a  man,  and  had  married  Hen- 
drika  Lossell." 

"  Et  apres  ?  "  said  Cornelia,  Avho,  as  she  had  herself  re- 
marked, preferred  her  brother  in  his  native  rudeness. 

"  I  want  that  of  you,  and  a  little  besides.  I  merely  want 
you  afterwards  to  back  me  up  with  Hendrik.  It's  all  for 
your  own  good  and  his.  You  can't  do  much  good,  but  that's 
no  reason  for  not  doing  the  little  you  can." 

"  Tell  me  about  it,"  said  Cornelia,  without  much  in- 
terest. 

"  I  had  better  see  first  how  far  I  can  get  with  Hendrik. 
Don't  you  think,  Corry,  that  Ninnie  is  behaving  very 
foolishly  —  no,  worse  still,  very  stupidly  —  with  young 
Paffer?" 

"  I  don't  care  a  brass  cent  about  young  Paffer,"  answered 
Cornelia  frankly.  "  But,  as  you  intend  to  honour  me  with 
your  company  for  some  length  of  time,  you  might  as  well 
take  the  opportunity  of  telling  me  what  means  you  em- 
ployed to  arrange  my  marriage  with  Lossell,  and  in  how  far 
that  arrangement  is  connected  with  the  abuse  he  now 
plentifully  sprinkles  on  your  probably  far  from  innocent 
head." 

"  You  are  as  humble  as  you  are  sagacious,  my  dear.  If 
Lossell  is  angry  with  me,  it  can  hardly  be  for  making  him 
the  happy  husband  of  a  perfect  wife." 


AIGBE-DOUX.  235 

"  Stop  fooling,  Thomas,"  she  said,  with  an  angry  flash  in 
her  eyes.  "  Too  much  sour  is  as  sickening  as  too  much 
sweet.  You  can  go,  or  stay,  as  you  like.  But,  if  you  stay, 
talk  sense.  Heudrik  told  me  to  ask  you  about  it.  And  I 
do  so." 

"  Hendrik  told  you  to  ask  me  about  it ! "  repeated 
Alers,  sitting  up  on  his  lounge  in  genuine  surprise. 
"  Good  gracious !  Cornelia,  have  you  two  come  to  that 
already?" 

"  What?"  she  asked,  disturbed,  in  her  turn,  by  the  tone 
of  his  voice.  "  Explanations  ?  Naturally.  Are  we  the 
kind  of  people  to  Join  hands  and  walk  blindfold  ?  He  tells 
me  that  it  doesn't  pay  to  pretend  to  be  rich  when  you're 
poor.  Neither  after  marriage,  he  says,  nor  before.  And  I 
want  to  know  what  he  means  by  'before.' " 

"  He  means,"  replied  Thomas  carelessly,  "  that  you  had 
debts  when  you  married  him.  They  were  small  ones — 
gloves,  ribbons,  and  fal-de-lals — but  he  appears  to  have  fer- 
reted them  out." 

"  That  is  a  lie,  Thomas." 

"  Or  he  means,  perhaps,  that  all  Koopstad,  and  we  also, 
believe  him  to  be  richer  than  he  really  is.  That  is  very 
probable,  and  I  can  understand  its  annoying  him." 

"  And  that,  dear  Thomas,  is  another  lie." 

"  My  fair  Cornelia,  you  are  unpleasant.  Let  us  return 
to  Paffer.  His  father,  I  hear,  had  a  cigar-shop.  Wholesale 
and  retail,  I  fancy,  for  Paffer  says  it  was  the  one,  and  his 
friends  say  it  was  the  other.  The  profits,  however,  were  un- 
deniably wholesale,  so  I  suppose  there  can  be  no  serious 
objection  to  the  shop.  Besides,  the  shop  is  gone,  and  the 
profits  remain.  An  officer  the  son  of  a  tradesman  doesn't 
matter  so  much,  if  the  tradesman  was  prosperous  and  is 
obligingly  dead.  I  don't  think  we  should  feel  annoyed  about 
the  Darwin  theory  of  the  descent  of  man,  if  our  ancestors 
had  had  the  decency  to  become  extinct.  But  now  they  get 
themselves  obtrusively  preserved  in  all  our  Zoological  Gar- 


236  GOD'S  FOOL. 

dens,  just  like  Judge  Starter's  mother,  in  her  mob-cap,  by 
the  family  fireside." 

"  I  want  to  know,"  said  Cornelia,  "  what  he  means  by 
'  before.' " 

"  I  sha'n't  tell  you,"  replied  Thomas  brusquely. 

"  Yes,  you  will,"  reiterated  Cornelia  placidly.  "  You  see 
there  is  something  to  tell." 

"  There  may  be,  but  I  shall  not  tell  it." 

"  Yes,  you  will." 

And  so  he  did.  "  Here  goes,"  he  said.  "  After  all,  per- 
haps you  had  better  be  told.  It  appears  that  you  people 
have  been  skirmishing,  and  in  that  case  it  is  always  best  to 
know,  if  you  want  to  retreat,  what  ground  you  retreat  on." 

When  he  had  finished  his  recital,  Cornelia  sat  for  some 
time  silent,  still  playing  with  that  tassel  of  her  easy-chair. 
Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  some  vague  spot,  away  out  in  the  bleak 
garden.  Thomas,  in  spite  of  his  effrontery,  could  not  help 
feeling  uncomfortable.  He  was  at  a  loss  what  to  say  next, 
and  vexed  to  know  himself  at  a  loss. 

"  It  was  a  low  thing  to  do,  Thomas,"  said  Cornelia  at 
last,  her  deep  tones  seeming  to  accentuate  the  previous 
silence.  "  It  was  not  a  deed,  I  believe,  that  Hendrik  could 
have  been  guilty  of." 

"  He  had  no  cause,"  said  Alers  bitterly.  "  L'occasion 
fait  le  larron — Occasion  makes  the  thief." 

"  It  was  a  thief  invented  that  falsehood,"  retorted  Cor- 
nelia scornfully. 

"  So  be  it,"  acquiesced  her  brother.  "  Honest  men  have 
lived  up  to  it  since.  But  do  not,  I  beg  of  you,  cut  up  nasty 
about  this  business.  Surely,  you  can  see,  Cornelia,  that,  if 
I  did  wrong,  I  did  it  on  your  behalf." 

"  I  deny  that,"  replied  Cornelia.  "  You  made  a  fool  of 
me  '  under  four  eyes.'  You  very  nearly  missed  doing  so  in 
the  sight  of  all  the  city,  and  that  catastrophe  was  avoided 
not  by  you  but  by  my  husband,  who  is  a  better  man  than 
you." 


AIGRE-DOUX,  237 

"  Tut,  tut,"  began  Thomas,  reddening. 

"  Yes,  I  say  that  he  is  a  better  man  than  you.  At  least 
he  behaved  honourably  in  the  dilemma,  into  which  your 
deception  had  brought  him,  if  he  had  not  behaved  honour- 
ably before.  No  woman  likes  to  hear  that  she  has  been 
chosen  for  her  money.  Least  of  all,  when  the  money  is  not 
even  there  for  her  to  fall  back  upon.  But,  at  any  rate, 
it  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  the  man  who  proposed  to 
my  fortune,  retained  my  hand,  when  he  learned  it  was 
empty." 

"  Oh,  as  for  that,"  interposed  Thomas,  "  it  is  pos- 
sible  " 

She  rose  from  her  listless  attitude  in  an  outburst  of  not 
undignified  wrath  :  "  I  ignore  your  possibilities,"  she  cried, 
towering  over  her  brother.  "  If  his  honour  did  not  turn  to 
me  in  the  first  place,  it  deferred  to  public  opinion,  or  it 
was  true  to  himself.  What  care  I  ?  There  was  a  something 
in  him,  a  something,  no  matter  what,  that  kept  him  from 
throwing  me  over.  I  asked  myself  whether  you  would  have 
had  it.     At  least,  I  can  respect  him  for  that." 

Thomas  was  silent. 

"  Go,"  she  said.  "  You  had  better  go  now,  Thomas. 
There  can  be  no  good  in  your  seeing  Hendrik  to-day.  Nor 
in  your  staying  with  me  at  this  moment.  I  must  first  as- 
similate this  agreeable  little  story  you  have  Just  told  me, 
and  learn  to  be  thankful  to  you  for  having  sold  your  sister 
for  a  spurious  bank-note." 

"  My  dear  Cornelia,"  cried  the  lawyer  in  alarm,  "  for 
Heaven's  sake,  don't  mount  the  romantic  horse.  What's 
done  can't  be  mended.  You  are  happy  with  Lossell, 
who  knew  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  as  you  rightly  point  out, 
before  you  were  married.  I  took  care  that  he  should. 
You  have  gained  by  the  transaction.  He  has  gained  by 
the  transaction.  The  only  one  who  has  lost  is  poor  dis- 
carded I." 

*'  Leave  me  in  peace,"  she  said,  still  standing  erect. 


238  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  We  can't  quarrel,"  he  pleaded.  "  We  can't.  It  would 
be  too  absurd.  We  can't  afford  family  brotiilles,  they  come 
awfully  expensive.  I  tell  you,  I  will  explain  everything  to 
Hendrik." 

"  AVhat  will  you  explain  to  Hendrik  ?  "  said  Lossell's 
voice  in  the  open  door. 


CHAPTEE    XXVIII. 

WHY   NOT? 

"  There  could  be  no  better  opportunity  for  explaining," 
said  Alers,  standing  between  the  wife  by  the  window  and 
the  husband  at  the  door.  "  It  is  all  a  most  vexatious  mis- 
understanding and  merely  requires  a  little  good  nature  in 
clearing  it  up." 

"  You  are  a  cad,  Alers,"  retorted  Hendrik,  moving  for- 
ward into  the  room.  "  And  now,  matters  being  settled  so 
far,  there  is  nothing  left  for  you,  I  should  say,  but  to  make 
yourself  scarce." 

"  My  dear  Lossell,  you  are  objectionable.  And  need- 
lessly so." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that.     I  said  you  were  a  cad." 

"  Other  people  have  told  me  that  before.  Remember  I 
am  a  lawyer.  But  they  never  meant  it.  Nor  do  you,  or 
you  would  not  have  waited  till  after  your  marriage  to  men- 
tion the  fact." 

"  Out  of  deference  to  Cornelia,"  said  Hendrik,  "  I  kept 
my  opinion  to  myself  " 

"  Exactly,"  replied  Thomas.  "  And  now,  out  of  defer- 
ence to  Cornelia,  I  Avill  have  none  of  your  opinion,  but  re- 
turn it  to  you,  requesting  you  to  keep  it  still." 

"  Strike  him,  Hendrik,"  said  Cornelia,  in  a  low  voice. 
"  Ring  for  Mulder  to  turn  him  out." 

"  C you  both,"  cried  Thomas,  "  with  your  con- 
founded insolence.  Yes,  ring,  do.  Let's  have  a  scene ! 
Lot's  make  fools  of  ourselves !     Look  here,  if  there's  to  be 


240  GOD'S  FOOL. 

a  row,  wait  for  a  reason  for  rowing.  We  shall  have  cause 
enough  at  this  rate,  before  our  hairs  are  gray.  What  do  I 
want  of  you,  do  you  think,  that  I  come  here,  exposing  my- 
self to  insult?  I  brought  you  together  for  your  pleasure, 
not  mine,  and  if  it's  turned  out  a  big  mistake — as  seems 
only  too  plain — you  should  vent  your  spite  on  each  other, 
not  me.  Why  didn't  you  think  of  all  that  before  marrying  ? 
And  what  do  you  reproach  me  with  ?  You  with  her  pov- 
erty. She  with  yours.  As  if  all  that  wasn't  written  down 
plain — without  my  interfering — in  those  precious  marriage- 
settlements  which  are  the  true  marriage-tie.  And  if  you're 
too  poor,  why,  that's  the  very  thing  I  came  about.  I  admit 
that  you're  too  poor.  So  am  I.  So  are  all  of  us.  So  is 
everybody — worse  luck — except  the  half-dozen  men  who 
are  too  rich."  He  stopped,  fairly  out  of  breath,  between 
anger  and  eloquence.  "•  Good -day  to  you,"  he  said,  turn- 
ing on  his  heel,  as  Cornelia  rang  the  bell.  "  After  all,  it 
was  purely  a  matter  of  business  I  came  about,  Lossell.  And 
I  thought — and  still  think — it  might  have  been  made  very 
advantageous  to  us  both." 

He  walked  out  into  the  hall  with  stately  step,  and  slowly 
quitted  the  house. 

Hendrik  and  Cornelia  stood  staring  at  each  other 
in  the  middle  of  the  room.  "  Oh,  hang  it !  "  began  Hen- 
drik at  length,  "  you  needn't  have  been  so  rough  with 
him,  Cornelia.  There  was  no  reason  for  you  to  ring  the 
bell." 

"  I  unfortunately  still  sometimes  resent  insult,"  replied 
Cornelia  bitterly,  "  even  from  my  nearest  and  dearest,  like 
Thomas  and — yourself.  Never  mind,  I  dare  say  the  habit 
will  wear  off  in  a  month  or  two." 

"  But  if  he  merely  came,  as  he  said,  to  offer  apologies 
and  amends — " 

"  Call  him  back,"  said  Cornelia,  "  and  tell  him  you  will 
take  them  in  cash."  She  waved  her  hand  in  the  direction 
of  the  servant  who  appeared  at  the  door. 


WHY  NOT?  241 

"  At  least  we  might  accord  him  a  hearing,"  replied  Hen- 
drik.  He  took  a  coujjle  of  steps  towards  the  man.  "  Mul- 
der," he  said,  raising  his  voice,  "  run  after  Mynheer  Alers. 
Tell  him  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  him  at  the  office  to-morrow 
morning,  any  time  between  nine  and  eleven." 

Two  minutes  later  Thomas  was  again  in  the  breakfast- 
room.  He  stood  aside  in  the  doorway  to  allow  his  sister  to 
pass  out. 

"  I  came  back  with  Mulder,  my  dear  Lossell,"  he  ex- 
plained apologetically.  "  My  little  business,  if  it  is  to  come 
to  anything,  will  not  allow  of  loss  of  time." 

"  I  never  attend  to  business  on  Sundays,"  said  Hendrik, 
glad  of  something  to  bridge  over  a  little  preliminary  awk- 
wardness.    "  It  doesn't  seem  right." 

"  I  can  heartily  agree  with  you,"  rejoined  Thomas,  "  as  a 
rule.  But  when  anything  gets  into  a  hole,  you  remember, 
you  are  always  allowed  to  pull  it  out." 

"  Are  you  in  a  hole  ?  "  questioned  Hendrik  hastily.  "  Be- 
cause, if  so — " 

"  No,  no.  Here,  let's  sit  down,  and  talk  it  over  quietly. 
You  are  strangely  irritable,  Hendrik,  far  more  than  you 
used  to  be.  Not  that  I  mind  your  angry  words,  for  I  know 
you  did  not  mean  them.  But  you  should  take  citrate  of 
magnesia,  or  something  of  that  sort.  Something  to  cool 
your  blood  and  freshen  you  up.  On  my  honour,  I  only 
came  here  to  put  you  in  the  way  of  a  good  thing.  And 
Just  look  at  the  manner  in  which  you  fly  out  at  me.  I 
think  you  owe  me  an  apology,  Hendrik." 

"  By  no  means,"  said  Hendrik.  "  Besides,  it  was  Cornelia 
rang  the  bell.  If  I  called  you  bad  names,  you  know  why. 
You  have  treated  me  shamefully.  But  if  you  want  to 
atone  for  it,  as  far  as  you  can,  I  won't  hinder  you.  What  is 
it  ?    Another  contract  for  tea  ?  " 

"  Not  exactly,"  replied  Alers.  "  You  must  admit,  how- 
ever, Lossell,  that  that  contract  I  got  for  you  with  the 
IG 


242  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Eoyal  Dutch  Steamship  Company  was  a  yery  advantageous 
thing  in  its  way." 

"  I  didn't  deny  it,"  said  Ilendrik. 

Alers  smiled.  "  Had  it  not  been,"  he  said,  "  you  would 
hardly  have  recalled  me  just  now." 

Lossell  cast  a  glance  at  the  clock.  "  Unless  you  wish  to 
meet  Cornelia  at  lunch,"  he  said,  "  you  had  better  make 
haste,  and  have  done.     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  It's  a  syndicate,"  replied  Alers  bluntly.  "  A  gold-mine 
in  the  Transvaal.  Not  one  of  your  bogus  companies,  but 
a  genuine  gold-mine.  I  have  the  prospectuses  with  me. 
Terms  of  subscription,  and  surveyor's  report.  Eeport 
capital.  Gold  a  certainty.  Probable  dividends  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  per  cent."  He  spread  out  the  papers  on  the 
table. 

Hendrik  pushed  them  aside.  "  I  never  take  shares  in 
this  kind  of  thing,"  he  said.  "  I  never  take  any  shares  at 
all.     I  have  no  money  to  spare,  as  you  might  know." 

"  It's  not  a  matter  of  taking  shares,"  replied  Thomas. 
"  Do  you  think  I  should  come  here  bothering  you  about  an 
ordinary  subscription  ?  It's  a  syndicate,  I  tell  you,  to  guar- 
antee the  whole  undertaking.  The  amount  wanted  is  only 
fifty  thousand  pounds  English,  six  hundred  thousand  florins, 
in  one  hundred  pound  shares.  The  price  of  emission  is  one 
hundred  per  cent.,  and  the  syndicate  takes  the  shares  and 
guarantees  them  at  eighty.     Do  you  understand  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,"  answered  Hendrik.  "  I  believe  I  know 
what  is  understood  under  a  syndicate,  and  I  have  also  heard 
before  of  the  very  simple  financial  transaction  you  have 
just  had  the  goodness  to  explain  to  me.  But,  not  being  a 
capitalist,  I  do  not  see  where  my  interest  in  the  matter  is 
expected  to  come  in." 

"  I  want  you,  of  course,  to  join  the  syndicate,"  said 
Thomas  bluntly  again.  "  It  was  comj^lete — everything  set- 
tled, the  prospectus  sent  out — and  now  some  idiot  has 
suddenly  drawn  back.     There  is  not  the  slightest  risk,  as 


WHY  NOT?  243 

you  see.  Yon  merely  accept  your  share  of  the  guarantee, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  emission  has  taken  place,  you  either 
retain  a  few  shares  if  you  wish  to,  or  you  dispose  of  the 
whole  lot,  at  a  hundred  per  cent.  There  is,  as  I  repeat,  not 
the  slightest  risk.  Only  a  nominal  guarantee  of  a  few  days, 
and  then  a  certain  profit  of  twenty  per  cent." 

"  Quite  so,"  said  Hendrik, "  if  the  amount  is  subscribed." 

"  It  will  be  subscribed  ten  times  over.  Aren't  all  the 
gold-mines  at  fancy  prices  just  now  ?  Look  at  the  Leeg- 
put  and  the  Stumper's  Fall,  and  so  many  others.  The  roads 
of  Transvaal  are  literally  paved  with  gold." 

"  I  am  not  a  widow,  Alers,  nor  a  half-pay  captain,  nor 
anything  else  unfortunate,  honourable  and  gullible,  but  a 
man  of  business,  if  you  please." 

"  Well,  well,  I  only  mean,  it's  the  time  for  gold-shares. 
You  know  that,  yourself.  Even  the  miserablest  bubbles  go 
up.  On  account  of  their  lightness,  I  suppose.  But  this  isn't  a 
bubble.  It's  a  bona-fide  company.  Of  course  I  expect  you 
to  look  thoroughly  into  it.  It  will  bear  looking  into. 
There's  a  board  of  eighteen  highly  honourable  men  as 
directors,  partly  here,  partly  in  London,  and  partly  in 
Transvaal." 

"  How  many  in  Transvaal  ?  "  asked  Hendrik. 

"  Three  here,  three  in  London,  and  twelve  in  Transvaal." 

"  Nonsense,  Alers.  There  are  not  twelve  highly  honour- 
able men  in  all  Transvaal." 

"  As  for  that,  commercial  integrity  is  local,  like  the  bye- 
laws.  The  six  European  directors  are  honourable  from 
a  European  point  of  view,  the  six  South  Africans  from  a 
South  African.  New  communities  require  looser  forms  of 
development.  Just  look  at  the  list,  and  complain,  if  j^ou 
dare." 

"  I  have  no  wish  to,"  said  Lossell.  "  The  whole  dis- 
cussion is  superfluous.  Of  course  the  sum  required  is  a 
large  one,  and  as  I  do  not  possess  it,  there  the  matter  ends." 

"  Only  seven  thousand  pounds  are  still  untaken,"  replied 


244  GOD'S   FOOL. 

Alers,  "  and  even  these  would  have  heen  gone,  had  this 
unexpected  hitch  not  occurred.  I  really  believe  it  is  a 
perfectly  safe  way,  Ilendrik,  of  gaining  a  very  considerable 
sum." 

"  Eighty-four  thousand  florins  !  "  cried  Hendrik.  Ho 
got  up  as  he  spoke.  "  You  see  how  useless  all  this  talk 
has  been.  AVherever  should  I  get  eighty-four  thousand 
florins  ?  " 

"  You  need  get  them  nowhere.  You  merely  guarantee 
the  amount  on  Friday  next,  and  the  subscription  being 
closed,  and  the  shares  allotted,  the  sum  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  florins  will  be  paid  out  to  you  shortly 
after." 

"  Will  you  guarantee  me  my  guarantee  ?  "  asked  Hen- 
drik. 

"  Nonsense.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  A 
poor  devil  like  me.     Except  that  I  know  it  to  be  good." 

"  No  interest  at  all  ?  " 

"  AVell,  of  course,  if  I  can  get  you  to  fill  up  the  gap,  the 
other  people  will  be  properly  grateful.  It  is  very  awk- 
ward for  them,  this  sudden  desertion.  The  man  is  dead,  I 
believe,  by-the-bye.  I  suppose  he  couldn't  help  that.  I 
have  merely  a  commission,  if  you  like  so  to  describe  it.  You 
see  I  am  frank.     But  that  is  literally  all." 

"  Of  course  I  know  that  the  profits  gained  by  these  syn- 
dicates are  often  a  kind  of  bonus  on  capital,"  said  Hendrik, 
"  a  sort  of  natural  excrescence,  with  a  minimum  of  danger. 
When  they're  really  good,  however,  I  fancy  the  bankers 
usually  snap  them  up.  I  don't  deny,  mind  you,  that  yours 
may  be  all  you  say.     I  wish  I  had  the  capital  to  risk  it." 

"  Lossell,"  said  Alers  earnestly,  "  why  do  you  beat  about 
the  bush  in  this  manner  ?  You  know  perfectly  well  that  you 
can  command  the  influence  of  ten  times  the  amount.  And 
it  is  just  the  influence  which  is  wanted  here,  and  not  the 
capital  itself.  You  bring  in  the  dead  weight  of  the  money 
without  requiring  to  touch  it.     You  will  never  have  such  a 


WHY  NOT?  245 

chance  again,  I  should  say,  of  earning  something  by  Elias's 
wealth  through  merely  letting  it  lie  where  it  lies." 

"  I  refuse,"  said  Hendrik  fiercely.  And  then,  uncon- 
sciously, he  broke  into  the  same  words  his  wife  had  used  an 
hour  earlier.     "  Go  away  !  "  he  cried  hastily.     "  Go  away  ! " 

"  Don't  be  childish,  Hendrik,  I  beg  of  you.  Seventeen 
thousand  florins  is  not  a  sum  to  be  despised,  especially  when 
it  can  be  used  as  a  basis  for  further  operations.  And  a 
guarantee  of  a  thoroughly  reliable " 

"  I  refuse,"  interrupted  Hendrik. 

"  Undertaking  like  this  is  equivalent  to  saying :  '  I'll 
hold  your  purse  for  you  while  you  put  your  gloves  on,  if 
you'll  give  me  a  fifth  of  its  contents,  when  you've  done.' " 

"  I  refuse,"  reiterated  Hendrik,  Avith  averted  eyes. 

"  You  will  repent  it  all  your  life.  You  have  no  money 
and  you  want  to  have  some.  Or  you  have  some  money  and 
would  like  to  have  more.  Here  is  an  opportunity.  I 
should  not  have  offered  it  to  you,  but  that  I  considered  I 
owed  you  some  amends  for  that  unfortunate  mistake  of 
mine  about  the  lottery-ticket.  I  am  now  doing  whatever  is 
in  my  power  to  conciliate  you  and  to  promote  your " 

"  I  refuse.  I  refuse.  I  refuse  ! "  cried  Hendrik  ;  and 
he  ran  from  the  room. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

A   PARTN'ERSHIP  WITH   LI3IITED   LIABILITY. 

He  found  Cornelia  waiting  for  him  by  tlie  luncheon- 
table.  Her  eyes  were  red,  an  unusual  sight  for  him,  and 
one  always  calculated  to  disturb  a  man's  equanimity.  And 
Cornelia's  massive  face  was  one  on  which  sorrow  sat  far 
from  prettily,  yet  impressively  withal.  You  could  see  that 
she  was  not  a  woman  to  cry  for  a  trifle,  and  the  very  pres- 
ence, therefore,  of  any  signs  of  tears  was  a  proof  of  the 
reality  of  her  affliction.  Heudrik,  irritated  and  excited  be- 
yond endurance  already,  felt  that  his  only  safeguard  lay  in 
silence.  He  threw  himself  on  to  his  accustomed  chair  at 
the  table,  and  his  equally  silent  spouse  took  the  seat  oppo- 
site which  was  hers  by  right,  and  which  had  the  advantage 
of  somewhat  shading  her  face  against  the  light  of  the  cur- 
tained windows. 

The  heavy  stillness  of  the  solemn  meal — there  is  a  still- 
ness which  is  far  from  quiet — was  broken  by  Alers,  who 
thrust  his  head  through  the  dining-room  door.  "  My  dear 
fellow,"  he  said,  "  I  can't  wait  for  ever.  At  luncheon,  by 
Jove  !  You  might  have  taken  leave  of  me  before  you  be- 
gan. Well,  shall  I  tell  them  you  seize  Fortune  by  her  all  too 
scanty  skirts  ?  " 

Cornelia  glanced  anxiously  at  her  husband,  without 
vouchsafing  Thomas  a  look. 

"  I  tell  you  for  the  last  time  that  I  refuse,"  spluttered 
Hendrik ;  "  and  I  refuse  to  continue  refusing.  I  can't  turn 
my  brother-in-law  out  of  the  house,  Thomas,  but  I  can  lock 


A  PARTNERSHIP  WITH  LIMITED  LIABILITY.     247 

myself  up  in  my  own  room  till  he  takes  himself  off.  And 
I  shall  do  so,  unless  you  leave  us  in  peace." 

"  All  right,"  retorted  Thomas  coolly,  buttoning  his  coat. 
"  Only  your  '  no '  was  so  impetuous  that  I  thought  it  might 
roll  over  into  a  '  yes.'  They  often  do  when  they  run  too 
fast.  I'm  sorry  for  you.  Ta-ta  !  What  a  disgrace  I  am  in 
all  of  a  sudden  !  But  you'll  work  round,  both  of  you — mark 
my  words— when  innocency  asserts  itself,  as  it  is  sure  to  do. 
Straightforward  comes  straight.  That's  always  been  my 
motto.  Don't  mind  me.  I'm  going.  You  look  very  glum 
in  here,  the  pair  of  you.  By-the-bye,  I  told  Corry  about 
that  mistake  in  connection  with  the  lottery-ticket,  Henk. 
She  insisted  on  getting  to  the  bottom  of  some  hints  of 
yours.  But  I  didn't  tell  her  of  this  magnificent  new  pro- 
posal. You  see,  I  never  speak  of  my  best  actions.  Only  of 
my  second-best.  I  am  sorry  your  marriage  should  form 
such  a  subject  of  regret  for  both  of  you.  Well,  you  must 
settle  that  between  yourselves.  I  really  am  off  this  time. 
Luncheon  getting  cold,  eh  ?  Atmosphere  cold,  generally. 
Ta-ta." 

He  nodded  to  both  of  them,  and  closed  the  door. 

"  Hendrik,"  said  Cornelia,  putting  aside  her  silence,  as 
it  were  with  an  effort,  yet  speaking  in  a  steady  tone  of 
voice.  "  You  heard  what  he  said.  It  is  true.  He  has  told 
me.  I  can  solemnly  assure  you  that  I  never  heard  the  story 
till  this  morning.  In  no  way  was  I  a  party  to  the  trans- 
action. I  must  now  accept  the  inevitable  and  swallow  the 
humiliation  as  best  I  can.  I  don't  want  to  know  why  you 
ultimately  married  me,  Hendrik.  I  would  rather  seek  re- 
pose in  a  variety  of  more  or  less  agreeable  possibilities.  One 
thing,  at  any  rate,  I  know.  It  was  not  for  the  worst  of  all 
reasons,  money.  And  one  other  thing  I  know  also.  It  was 
not  for  the  best  of  all  reasons — love." 

"  Cornelia "  he  began  nervously. 

"  Don't.     Let  us  have  no  explanations.     And  no  recrim- 


248  GOD'S  FOOL. 

inations.  And,  above,  all  no  tendernesses.  We  shall  drop 
into  our  places  like  other  people,  and  be  very  comfortable, 
I  doubt  not,  in  time.  I  must  be  honest  with  you,  Hendrik. 
I  have  no  right  to  ppse  as  a  dilaissee.  I  liked  you,  but, 
also,  I  wanted  to  get  married.  Well,  I  am  married.  Wo 
can't  alter  that.  I,  for  one,  should  not  wish  to.  We  must 
both  of  us  extract  as  much  good  as  we  can  out  of  the 
arrangement.  But  please  don't  let  us  pretend.  I  have  a 
horror  of  pretence." 

"That  I  married  you  afterwards,"  stammered  Hendrik, 
"  is  surely  proof  enough  that  I  wanted  you — rich  or  poor — 
for  my  wife." 

"  Please  don't  let  us  pretend,"  she  repeated.  "  I  respect 
you  for  having  married  me,  and  there  we  must  let  the  mat- 
ter rest.  But,  Hendrik,  we  must  come  to  a  clear  under- 
standing. We  cannot  go  on  quarrelling  for  ever  about 
trifles.  Only  people  who  are  excessively  fond  of  each  other 
can  afford  to  quarrel  constantly." 

"  My  dear  creature,"  interrupted  Hendrik,  "  we  do  not 
quarrel  constantly." 

"  Well,  '  disagree,'  if  you  prefer  the  word.  We  live  in  a 
state  of  chronic  disagreement  as  regards  matters  pertaining 
to  our  daily  existence.  And  every  now  and  then  there  is  an 
outbreak.  There  was  one  this  morning.  We  pull  different 
Avays,  Hendrik.  Now,  that  must  end,  or  life  will  be  insup- 
portable to  us  both." 

"  But  what  do  you  want,  you  ?  "  he  cried  passionately, 
and  he  pushed  back  his  plate  with  a  clash  against  the 
tumbler  behind  it. 

"  I  want,"  said  Cornelia,  unmoved,  "  to  make  both  of  us 
comfortable  and  contented,  once  for  all.  I  do  not,  you  see, 
aspire  to  the  unattainably  lofty.  And  the  best  way  to  attain 
my  moderate  ideal — at  least,  between  people  who  have  no 
unlimited  stores  of  romance  to  fall  back  upon — is  plain 
speaking.  I  undertake,  Hendrik,  to  do  all  that  you  can  ex- 
pect from  your  wife,  or  the  world  from  Mevrouw  Lossell. 


A  PARTNERSHIP  WITH  LIMITED  LIABILITY.     249 

It  is  in  my  own  interest,  if  you  will,  that  your  home  should 
be  comfortable,  and  my  pride  will  rejoice  in  any  public  suc- 
cess you  may  achieve.  You  ought  to  take  your  father's 
place  in  the  Town  Council ;  you  ought  to  become  a  man  of 
influence  in  Koopstad,  and  beyond  Koopstad.  I  will  do 
anything,  anything  to  assist  you  in  your  career.  We  must 
work  together,  for  we  can  no  longer  work  apart.  But  I  also 
have  a  career  before  me.  And  in  that  you  must  helj)  me. 
I  am  going  to  be  somebody  socially.  I  am  going  to.  I  am 
resolved.  I  should  always  have  desired  it,  probably,  but 
now,  knowing  what  I  know,  I  am  perfectly  resolved.  It  is 
the  last  resource  left  to  soft-hearted  women,  when  their  nest 
is  left  bare,  but  I  am  not  soft-hearted,  and,  therefore,  in  no 
way  to  be  pitied.  But  I  give  you  fair,  full  warning.  I  in- 
tend to  arrange  my  life,  and  I  advise  you  to  arrange  yours, 
so  as  to  get  a  maximum  of  second-best  satisfaction  out  of  it. 
We  are  allies,  henceforth,  in  the  war  against  ennui.  Is  it  a 
contract  ?  " 

"  I  can't  imagine  what  you  are  driving  at  ?  "  said  Hen- 
drik,  white  and  uncomfortable. 

"  Surely  I  speak  distinctly.  Your  object  in  marrying 
me  is  your  affair,  if  I  may  so  put  it.  See  that  you  achieve 
it.  Only,  that  sounds  unfriendly,  and  I  specially  wish  not 
to  be  unfriendly.  I  will  help  you  by  all  means  in  my  power, 
compatible  with  ray  own  legitimate  claims,  if  you  will  con- 
fide in  me.  I,  on  my  part,  will  be  frank.  I  liked  you  very 
well,  and  I  wanted  a  position.  As  for  the  romantic  side, 
we  won't  inquire  when  the  honeymoon  ended,  but  neither 
of  us  can  have  expected  it  to  outlive  this  morning,  suppos- 
ing it  to  have  survived  till  then.  We  need  not  pretend  it 
was  ever  remarkably  robust.  The  chance  of  the  position 
remains  for  me.  I  married  a  man  with  a  large  income,  and 
I  am  going  to  spend  that  income.  I  am  not  going  to  waste 
it,  and  I  am  not  going  to  exceed  it,  but  I  am  going  to  spend 
it.     Is  that  clear  enough  ?  " 

"  You  know  nothing  of  my  income,"  cried  Hendrik. 


250  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Yes,  I  do.  Or,  rather,  I  shall.  You  forget  the  Income 
Tax  Registers.  I  shall  make  inquiries,  once  for  all,  either 
personally,  or  through  an  agent.  Through  some  go-between 
will  probably  be  best.  And  when  I  know  what  your  income 
is,  I  shall  spend,  say,  three-quarters  of  it.  You  can  always 
advertise  in  the  papers,  you  know,  that  you  will  no  longer 
be  responsible  for  my  debts." 

"  Cornelia,"  cried  Hendrik,  "  I  cannot  believe  you 
mean  what  you  say,  and  I  cannot  imagine  what  is  your 
reason  for  saying  it.  That  the  registers  are  get-at-able 
is  true,  and  it  is  as  scandalous  a  thing  as  possible,  and 
means  ruin  to  many  a  struggling  man  of  business.  But 
you  know  well  enough  that  they  are  no  reliable  criterion, 
for  nobody  gives  in  his  income  correctly.  Everybody  natu- 
rally puts  down  too  little  or  too  much.  And  quite  right, 
too." 

"  And  which  do  you  do  ?  "  asked  Cornelia,  with  a  scorn- 
ful smile. 

"  Mine  varies  immensely,  as  you  can  understand,  with 
the  profits  of  the  business.  Whatever  do  you  want,  in 
Heaven's  name  ?  Surely  you  have  enough,  and  to  spare. 
You  talk  as  if  I  were  starving  you.  Did  you  have  a  better 
luncheon  than  this  at  home  ?  " 

"No.  You  knovf  I  did  not.  What  I  want?  I  want 
you  to  answer  me  one  question— truthfully— on  your  word 
of  honour.  Do  you  spend,  in  our  present  way  of  living,  one 
half  of  your  average  income  ?  " 

"  It  varies,  I  tell  you,  constantly,"  stuttered  Hendrik. 
"  It  must  be  evident  to  you  that  it  incessantly  varies.  And 
therefore " 

"  I  thought  you  did  not,"  said  Cornelia  quietly.  "  One 
word  more,  Hendrik,  and  I  have  done.  This  is  my  proposal. 
You  treble  my  pin-money.  You  treble  my  housekeeping 
money.  You  start  a  carriage  and  a  pair  of  horses.  I,  on 
my  part,  bind  myself  to  make  no  debts,  and  never  to  trouble 
you  about  money  matters.     I  undertake  to  accede  to  all 


A  PARTXEESniP  WITH   LIMITED  LIABILITY.      251 

your  minor  wislies  as  far  as  you  can  rationally  expect.  Do 
you  accept  my  terms  ?  " 

"  Treble  !  Treble !  You  are  unreasonable.  Cornelia, 
you  are  talking  arrant  trash  !  " 

"  Do  you  refuse  them  ?  They  are  an  ultimatum.  If  you 
refuse  them,  I  shall  not  consider  myself  restricted  to  any 
limit,  and  shall  spend  what  I  may  deem  circumstances  to 
require.  You  had  really  better  accept,  Hendrik.  It  is  the 
only  way,  I  feel  sure,  to  establish  a  comfortable  compromise 
between  us.  There,  I  am  using  the  word  '  comfortable ' 
again.  It  is  the  right  word.  We  can  be  '  comfortable ' 
still.  And  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  be  it.  Privation 
and  self-sacrifice  are  delightful  things  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, but  those  circumstances  are  absent  in  our  case. 
Love  in  a  cottage  is  probably  charming — at  least  for  a 
limited  period.  I  dare  say  one  can  get  on  pretty  smoothly 
without  it,  if  only  one  builds  out  the  cottage  in  time." 

"  You  are  plain-spoken,  at  any  rate,"  he  said,  trembling 
with  annoyance. 

"  I  always  was.  I  am  convinced  it  is  best  in  all  great 
crises.  For  daily  intercourse  little  falsehoods  come  most 
handy.  They  are  the  small  change  of  human  intercourse, 
but  the  big  bank-notes  are  best  made  out  in  black  and 
white.  There,  you  see  how  calmly  I  can  discuss  the 
matter.  Let  this  be  the  last  great  discussion  between  us, 
even  though  we  should  live  to  celebrate  our  golden  wedding. 
"We  shall  float  on  smoothly  enough  on  the  little  currency  of 
everyday  small-talk." 

"  Cornelia,"  he  said  hoarsely,  "  give  up  this  idea.  It  is 
all-important  to  me  to  save  every  penny  I  can.  I  do  not  do 
60  from  any  motive  of  stinginess,  I  assure  you.  It  is  a  daily 
self-sacrifice." 

His  evident  agitation  impressed  her.  "  Confide  in  me," 
she  said  gently.     "  Tell  me  why." 

"  She  would  not  understand  !  "  flashed  through  Hendrik 
Lossell's  brain.     And  all  the  merchant's  hereditary  preju- 


252  GOD'S  FOOL. 

dice  revolted  from  the  idea  of  speaking  of  business  matters 
to  a  woman.  He  felt  liow  useless  would  be  any  attempt  to 
arouse  her  sympathy  for  the  idea  whieh  engrossed  his  whole 
existence. 

"  I  can't  do  that,"  he  muttered  dejectedly. 

"  You  see !  "  she  cried  triumphantly,  with  a  sudden  com- 
plete revulsion  of  feeling.  "  I  thought  so.  And  once  more, 
and  yet  again,  I  refuse  to  be  bound  down  to  the  present 
miserable  pittance.  Should  we  ever  have  children,  there 
might  be  reason  to  reconsider  our  expenditure.  But  now  I 
am  moderate  enough  in  proposing  terms  that  remain  well 
within  the  limits  of  good  sense." 

"  You  are  like  your  brother !  You  are  in  league  with 
him ! "  cried  Hendrik.  "  You  want  me  to  take  Elias's 
money  and  use  it  as  my  own ! " 

"Has  Thomas  proposed  that?"  she  asked  in  genuine 
r.larm. 

"  Yes,  or  as  good.  You  are  a  worthy  couple,  the  pair  of 
you ! "  cried  Hendrik,  overflowing  with  tremulous  passion. 
"  My  God,  what  have  I  done  to  be  so  miserable  !  I  tvonH  be 
bullied  into  making  either  a  rogue  or  a  fool  of  myself.  Who 
are  you,  Mejuffrouw  Alers,  to  talk  about  a  carriage  and  a 
social  position  in  Koopstad  ?  Who  are  you  to  dictate  to  me 
what  my  income  is  and  how  I  ought  to  spend  it?" 

"I  am  the  woman,"  she  said,  facing  him  tranquilly, 
"  whom  you  wished  to  marry  for  her  fortune  and  considered 
it  advisable  to  marry  without.  God  is  my  witness  that  I 
would  not  touch  a  penny  of  your  wretched  charge's  money ; 
my  brother's  sins  be  on  his  own  head.  But  the  very  exist- 
ence of  that  enormous  fortune,  of  which  you  are  the  co-heir, 
proves  the  unworthy  folly  of  your  hoards.  I  leave  you  time 
till  to-morrow  morning.  If  you  refuse  to  listen  to  reason,  I 
shall  consider  that  I  am  entitled  to  act  for  myself." 

She  went  towards  the  door. 

"  Halt ! "  he  said,  intercepting  her  with  his  arm.  "  Do 
you  really  mean  that  you  will  institute  inquiries  as  to  my 


A  PARTNERSHIP  WITH   LIMITED  LIABILITY.     253 

average  income,  and  then  arrange  your  expenditure  accord- 
ingly ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  looking  full  at  him.  "  Let  me 
pass." 

"  Do  so,"  he  said,  "  and  I  will  hold  up  your  name  to  all 
Koopstad." 

"  No,  you  will  not,"  she  replied,  "  for  the  name  which  I 
now  irrevocably  bear  is  your  own," 

In  the  doorway  she  stopped  for  a  moment,  "  Remem- 
ber, Hendrik,"  she  said  in  her  ordinary  smooth  voice,  "  that 
we  dine  with  the  Overdyks  to-night." 

He  did  not  answer  her.  Long  after  she  had  left  him  he 
sat  by  the  disordered  luncheon-table,  his  head  in  his  hands. 
"  I  hate  the  woman,"  he  repeated  to  himself,  "  and  yet,  I 
suppose,  from  her  point  of  view  she  is  right.  Or,  at  least, 
one  can  understand  her  not  caring  to  share  my  lot." 

He  did  not  really  hate  her.  He  had  never  loved  her 
enough  for  that. 

The  servant  drove  him  from  the  room  by  coming  in  to 
clear  away  the  things. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ELIAS'S   EYES   OPEN   UPON   THE   WORLD. 

They  did  not  speak  to  each  other  again  till  they  were 
driving  home  in  the  dark  cab  from  their  rather  dismal  din- 
ner at  Tante  Theresa's.  They  had  not  met  until  it  was 
time  to  betake  themselves  thither,  and  on  their  way  to  the 
house  they  had  found  no  reason  to  exchange  a  word.  Both 
were  busy  with  their  oAvn  thoughts.  Lively  old  Tante 
Theresa  twitted  them  on  their  dulness.  "  You  are  in  love 
still,"  she  said.  "  You  are  as  bad  company  as  a  newly  en- 
gaged couple.  Dear  me,  I  thought  the  fever  diminished 
after  the  crisis.  I  know  mine  did;  did  it  not,  Edward?" 
and  she  laughed  a  bright  laugh  to  her  white-haired  husband. 

And  then  she  said  sweetly  to  Cornelia :  "  How  especially 
fortunate  for  you,  my  dear,  that  your  husband  should  be  so 
excessively  fond  of  you." 

"  Why  '  peculiarly  fortunate,'  Tante  Theresa  ?  "  asked 
Cornelia  sharply. 

"  I  did  not  say '  peculiarly ' ;  I  said  '  especially,'  my  dear. 
And  pray  do  not  take  offence.  I  must  beg  of  you  not  to 
get  into  a  habit  of  taking  offence.  In  our  family  we  never 
do  so." 

"  Tante  Theresa ! "  cried  Isidor,  in  protest  from  the 
corner  where  he  was  playing  chess  with  the  master  of  the 
house,  and  gracefully  losing  the  game. 

"  Not  visibly,  Isidor.  Nobody  knows  what  happens  in- 
side us  as  long  as  we  keep  the  curtains  drawn." 

"  Wash  your  curtains,   say   I,   or  take   them  down ! " 


ELIAS'S  EYES  OPEN  UPON  THE  WORLD.         255 

shouted  Isidor,  wheeling  round  on  his  chair.  "  These  cur- 
tains that  have  been  drawn  for  generations — shade  of  Ga- 
maliel !— how  dirty  they  have  got." 

"  I  wish  you  would  attend  to  your  game,  Isidor,"  inter- 
posed Uncle  Edward  querulously,  "  instead  of  saying  rude 
things  to  your  aunt.  You  are  losing,  in  part  through  your 
carelessness.  Of  course  you'  have  no  chance  against  me,  if 
you  don't  even  do  your  best.     Mate  again." 

"  One  question,  Cornelia,"  said  Hendrik's  voice  in  the 
dark  silence  of  the  slow  four-wheeler.  "  You  are  resolved 
that  this  scandal  shall  take  place  ?  " 

"I  am  resolved,"  she  replied,  "to  avoid  scandal  and 
misery.  I  think  I  know  better  than  most  women  the  limits 
of  my  own  weakness  and  my  own  strength.  Such  a  life  as 
you  propose  to  me,  Hendrik,  is,  under  the  circumstances, 
impossible.  It  is  simply  beyond  my  strength,  because 
beneath  it.  I  must  have  something  to  fill  up  the  void  which 
I  feel.  At  home  I  had  enough  of  hard  work  and  struggling 
upward.  Perhaps  I  have  got  into  a  way  of  struggling 
upward,  and  must  go  on.  Look  at  your  aunt  Theresa,  how 
she  scorns  me  with  her  smiles.  It  would  kill  me  in  the 
loneliness  of  my  existence.  If  I  can't  have  love,  I  must 
have  envy.  We  women  are  poor  medleys  of  strong  wine 
and  strong  poison.  Forgive  me,  if  you  can.  Hate  me,  if 
you  will.     No,  don't,  it  would  be  too  uncomfortable." 

"  You  are  resolved  ? "  he  repeated.  Her  words  had 
flowed  past  him.     One  thought  only  was  in  his  mind. 

"  If  you  understood  me,  you  would  no  longer  ask,"  she 
said. 

He  sank  back  in  the  musty  cushions. 

"  I  suppose  I  must  let  you  have  the  money,"  he  sighed. 
"  Not  the  carriage.     I  can't  give  you  the  carriage." 

"  We  can  wait  with  the  carriage  till  May,"  she  made 
answer — they  were  in  the  first  week  of  April — "  it  will  fit  in 
better  with  the  carriage-tax." 


256  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  To  give  you  the  money,"  he  said  faintly,  "  means  the 
ruin  of  all  that  makes  life  worth  living  to  me." 

"  Will  you  tell  me  why  ?  "  she  asked — not  gently  this 
time,  but  incredulously. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered  suddenly,  carried  away  by  his  hope- 
lessness, "  because  only  by  laying  aside  every  penny  I  can 
spare,  I  may  still  hope  some  day  to  be  the  head  of  the  house 
of  Volderdoes  Zonen." 

"  But  you  are  that  already,"  she  said. 

"  I  am  only  acting  partner.  Elias  owns  almost  all  the 
shares.  I  am  buying  them  from  him  as  fast  as  I  can.  So 
slowly ! " 

"  But,  Hendrik,  that  must  be  a  very  long  proceeding. 
And,  in  course  of  time,  they  will  come  to  you  and  Hubert 
naturally,  through  his  death." 

"  He  may  survive  me.  He  is  twice  as  strong  a  man  as 
I  am." 

"  The  dead  have  no  need  of  money,"  she  said. 

"  But  don't  you  see,"  he  cried,  bending  forward  in  the 
darkness,  "  that  I  am  growing  richer  every  year.  For  the 
acquisition  of  each  share  means  a  great  increase  of  income. 

If  only  I   have   time — have  time "  he   gasped  in  his 

eagerness.    "  And  think  of  the  future  !    Volderdoes  Zonen ! 
We  shall  be  among  the  richest  in  Koopstad  ! " 

"  And  in  the  meantime  ?  "  she  said.  "  Long  years  of 
miserable  struggle — for  an  idea  ?  And  at  last,  w^hen  Ave  are 
old  and  decrepit,  a  success  we  no  longer  care  for.  Or,  per- 
haps, your  brother's  death  makes  the  life-long  battle  sud- 
denly superfluous." 

"  But  you  do  not  understand,"  he  stammered  desperately. 
*'  The  commercial  honour  at  stake " 

"  I  have  never  understood  the  intangible,  Hendrik,"  she 
answered.  "  It  is  not  in  my  character.  I  have  never  taken 
hold  of  what  I  cannot  touch.  But  what  is  visible  I  can  see 
as  well  as  most  people.  I  should  like  nothing  at  this  moment 
so  much  as  to  play  the  role  of  generous  self-sacrifice.     It 


ELIAS'S  EYES  OPEN   UPON  THE  WORLD.         257 

looks  well,  and  it  is  agreeable  to  one's  own  feelings.  How 
nice  it  would  be  to  say :  '  My  husband,  your  ideal  shall  be 
mine.  I  will  starve  myself  with  pleasure  for  an  object 
I  don't  appreciate.'  But  I  know  that,  easy  as  the  promise 
is  to  make,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  keep  it.  Let 
me  be  honest  and  deny  myself  the  momentary  pleasure 
which  so  many  softer-hearted  people  enjoy.  But  let  me  do 
what  I  can.  We  may  probably  come  to  a  farther  compro- 
mise, as  you  now  bring  forward  new  considerations,  which 
to  you  seem  all-important.  Give  me  the  carriage— I  cannot 
do  without  it :  look  at  this  cab ! — and  a  moderate  sum  for 
entertainments,  and  I  will  leave  you  the  rest,  which  is  prob- 
ably pretty  nigh  half,  without  any  further  demands  on  my 
part  for  the  next  three  years.  We  will  revise  our  budget 
then.  But  surely  you  could  find  some  way  of  making 
money  faster  than  by  merely  earning  it  ?  " 

"  Cornelia,  you  would  argue  with  the  devil.  He  would 
have  had  the  worst  of  a  bargain  over  your  soul  in  the  good 
old-fashioned  days.  I  fancy  he  would  have  ended  by  saying 
that  he  couldn't  do  it  at  the  price."  His  words  were  light, 
for  at  least  he  had  gained  a  concession,  and  he  could  trust 
his  inflexible  wife  to  stick  to  her  part  of  the  bargain. 

"  I  do  not  understand  jokes  in  connection  with  religion, 
Hendrik,"  she  said  coldly.  She  felt  that  once  again,  in  the 
tussle,  her  victory  seemed  very  like  defeat.  And  it  was  her- 
self that  had  defeated  herself  in  the  very  moment  of  his 
surrender.  A  less  honest  woman,  she  thought,  would  at 
least  have  got  all  the  credit  for  herself  by  promising  a 
little  more  and  performing  a  little  less.  The  idea  annoyed 
her. 

"  I  am  too  straightforward,"  she  said  aloud,  "  and  too 
sober.  You  should  have  had  quite  a  different  kind  of  wife, 
Hendrik,  one  of  those  women  who  always  get  their  own  way 
by  saying  they  are  going  to  do  yours." 

This  confession  did  much  to  accentuate  Hcndrik's  re- 
turning self-content.  "  You  shall  have  the  carriage  in  May," 
17 


258  GOD'S  FOOL. 

he  said  cheerfully,  "  and  we  will  settle  about  the  parties 
next  autumn,  and  I  accept  your  word  of  honour  to  make  no 
more  debts." 

"  But,  Hendrik,  it  is  only  for  three  years,"  she  protested, 
irresistibly  driven  to  "  dot  all  her  i's." 

"  So  be  it,"  he  answered.  "  Much  can  happen  in  three 
years." 

"  You  must  be  rich  by  then,  I  am  sure  you  can  be  if 
you  choose.  Not,  not  by — you  know — Thomas.  But  how 
are  great  fortunes  made  in  a  short  time,  if  people  only  have 
something  to  start  with  ?  Money  breeds  money,  I  have 
always  heard.  There  is  the  Stock  Exchange,  for  instance. 
Thomas  told  me,  not  long  ago,  of  a  man  who  had  made  one 
hundred  thousand  florins  there  in  ten  days." 

"  Yes  ;  and  there  is  Monte  Carlo,"  said  Hendrik,  laugh- 
ing. The  carriage  was  approaching  the  house,  and  he 
looked  out  at  the  hall-lamp  growing  momentarily  clearer. 
He  was  triumphant  at  the  promise  about  the  debts.  That 
was  well  worth  a  carriage,  which  must  be  cut  down  to  a 
one-horse  affair  to  begin  with.  He  would  buy  a  brougham 
second-  hand,  he  thought,  and  get  a  livery-stable  man  to 
job  it. 

He  helped  his  wife  out  and  ran  lightly  up  the  steps.  A 
man  was  standing  in  the  hall  behind  Mulder.  "  There  is  a 
message  from  the  Villa,  Mynheer,"  said  the  servant  eagerly. 
"  The  Baas  has  been  waiting  for  you  for  the  last  half -hour. 
It  seems  that  Mynheer  is  not  well." 

And  then  Hendrik  saw  that  the  man  in  the  half-shade 
was  Elias's  head-gardener. 

Husband  and  wife  exchanged  a  glance  of  passionate 
question — neither  hope  nor  fear. — "  Why  did  you  not  send 
him  on  ?  "  Lossell  inquired  angrily. 

The  gardener  stepped  forward  into  the  light. 

"  Mulder  said  you  might  be  back  any  moment,  Mynheer. 
I  was  afraid  to  miss  you,  if  I " 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  your  master  ?     Is  he  ill  ?  " 


ELIAS'S  EYES  OPEN  UPON  THE  WORLD.         259 

"  I  don't  know,  Mynheer.  I  should  suppose  so,  for  the 
coachman  has  gone  for  the  doctor,  and  the  Juffrouw  told 
me  to  fetch  you  at  once." 

"  Call  back  the  cabman !  I  shall  start  without  delay. 
— Don't  wait  up  for  me,  Cornelia." 

The  servant  ran  out  into  the  night,  hallooing  at  the  top 
of  his  voice.  But  no  light  was  visible  playing  hide  and 
seek  among  the  trees.     Darkness  and  silence. 

"I  must  go  on  foot,  then,"  cried  Hendrik  impatiently 
from  the  steps.  "  Come  with  me.  Baas."  And  he  hurried 
down  the  avenue,  his  mind  surging  with  questions  to  which 
no  answer  was  possible  at  the  moment.  The  gardener  joined 
him,  and  together  they  turned  towards  the  road  over  which 
Hendrik  had  already  walked  in  the  morning  of  that  day. 

When  Hendrik  arrived  at  the  Villa,  he  was  immediately 
ushered  into  Elias's  bed-room.  As  he  threw  open  the  door, 
he  heard  his  step-brother's  voice  in  eager,  high-pitched  tones. 
A  couple  of  people  were  in  the  room,  Johanna,  and  the 
blind  man's  old  friend,  Dr.  Pillenaar.  Elias  sat  at  the 
farther  end  by  the  bed,  in  the  light  of  a  shaded  lamp,  a 
loose  dressing-gown  thrown  round  his  stalwart  frame. 
Johanna  was  bending  over  him,  and  soothing  him.  Dr. 
Pillenaar  stood  at  a  little  distance,  watching  the  pair  with  a 
perplexed  look  on  his  fine  old  face.  He  was  hale  and  hearty 
still,  but  he  no  longer  visited  other  patients  than  Elias 
Lossell. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  cried  Elias,  as  soon  as  the  door  opened. 
"Is  it  Hendrik?  Hendrik  at  last?"— Johanna  told  him 
that  it  was — "  01i,  Hendrik,"  he  continued,  "you  must  help 
me.  I  am  sure  you  can  help  me.  I  have  told  Dr.  Pille- 
naar so  and  Johanna.  You  can't  know.  I  am  sure  you 
can't  know.  Just  fancy,  how  terrible  it  is,  Hendrik,  there 
are  people  in  the  world  who  haven't  got  enough  to  eat  for 
themselves  and  their  little  children — and  nobody  gives  it 
them  ! " 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

TWO    BROTHERS    IN   MISFORTUNE. 

It  happened  very  rarely  indeed  that  Elias  went  out  at 
night.  And  on  the  few  occasions  when  he  obtained  per- 
mission from  Johanna  to  do  so,  it  was  almost  invariably  on 
condition  that  the  old  lady  herself  should  accompany  him. 
On  this  eventful  Sunday,  however,  an  exception  had  been 
made.  A  message  had  come  up  from  the  hamlet  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  beyond  the  Villa  that  one  of  Elias's  favourite  pen- 
sioners, an  old  man  of  nearly  eighty,  was  very  ill  and  de- 
sirous to  see  him  again.  Johanna,  whom  an  injured  foot 
confined  to  the  grounds,  had  declared  positively  that  her 
charge  could  not  be  trusted  to  go,  but  the  girl  who  had 
brought  the  request — a  granddaughter  of  the  invalid's — had 
given  so  distressing  an  account  of  her  grandfather's  restless 
longing,  that  Johanna,  flattered  in  her  heart  by  this  affec- 
tion the  blind  man  had  called  up,  had  unwillingly  con- 
sented to  reconsider  her  resolve.  "  He  can't  speak  to  him, 
Juffrouw,  unless  you  come,  but  he  don't  want  to,"  the  girl 
declared.  "  He's  too  weak  to  say  much.  He  says  he  only 
wants  to  see  his  beautiful  face  again,  and  touch  his  hand  in 
thanks  for  all  that  he's  done  for  us,  and  then  he  can  die 
content."  Johanna  could  understand  the  sentiment.  She 
felt  that  it  must  be  treated  Avith  respect. 

Elias,  upon  being  consulted,  declared  his  immediate 
readiness  to  start.  John  could  go  with  him.  Yes,  cer- 
tainly, he  must  "  see  "  old  Volsman  again,  if  the  good  creat- 
ure  was  worse.     And  might  he  take  some  more  of  that 


TWO  BROTHERS  IN  MISFORTUNE.  261 

strong  jelly,  and  some  soup  and  eggs,  and  a  bottle  of  wine 
in  a  basket?  John  would  carry  it.  He  hurried  on  the 
preparations  with  such  energy,  that  Johanna  had  no  heart 
to  bring  forward  fresh  obstacles,  and  she  saw  him  go  off  into 
the  starlit  cool  spring  night,  and  lingered  long  upon  the 
terrace,  watching  the  two  men  out  of  sight  with  many 
doubts  and  fears,  and  wondering  whether  John  would  re- 
member one  half  of  the  injunctions  she  had  poured  into  his 
motionless  ears. 

The  visit  to  the  dying  man  was  necessarily  only  partly 
satisfactory.  Elias  could  sit  by  the  bed  and  speak  a  few 
words  of  sympathy — and  that  was  all.  "  Poor  Volsman  !  " 
he  murmured.  "  Soon  get  better.  I  do  hope  you  will  soon 
get  better.  I  know  it  is  so  tiresome  to  be  ill."  And  Vols- 
man could  only  clasp  Elias's  powerful,  useless  hand  in  his 
two  emaciated  ones  and  lie  looking  at  the  solemn  sightless 
eyes.  After  a  moment  or  two  John,  who  found  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  poor  little  cottage  decidedly  depressing, 
touched  his  master's  arm  and  led  him  away.  He  caught  up 
the  empty  basket,  nodded  to  the  distressed  womenkind  of 
the  family  and  walked  out. 

As  the  pair  turned  into  the  principal  street  of  the  tiny 
village,  Elias,  who  had  already  taken  a  very  long  walk  in 
the  afternoon,  expressed  an  opinion  to  tlie  effect  that  he 
felt  tired,  which  was  welcomed  by  his  companion  as  a  God- 
send, so  eager  are  we  to  consider  our  vices  abetted  by  the 
Almighty.  For  John,  Avho  had  only  been  a  few  months 
with  his  present  master,  had  recently  established  a  more  or 
less  harmless  flirtation  with  the  barmaid  of  the  village  gin- 
shop,  and  at  this  moment  he  was  chafing  inwardly  at  the 
idea  of  having  to  pass  her  door  without  as  much  as  a  smile. 
Elias's  casual  observation  procured  the  lover  a  too  welcome 
pretext,  and  he  stopped,  with  a  sudden  resolve,  at  the  door 
of  the  little  "  Tappery,"  and,  pushing  it  open,  guided  the 
blind  man  to  a  seat  by  the  wall  inside. 

The  little  room  was  close  and  smelt  of  pipes  long  smoked 


262  GOD'S  FOOL. 

and  liquors  long  consumed— a  flat,  unwholesome,  yesterday- 
evening  smell.  At  this  moment  it  was  completely  deserted, 
but  for  a  dirty  figure— a  tramp,  probably— huddled  up  in  a 
corner,  half-asleep. 

Elias  could  not  perceive  where  he  was,  but  he  under- 
stood that  John  had  kindly  procured  a  seat  for  him  in  some 
cottage.  He  was  not  really  so  tired  as  to  require  a  rest,  and 
the  musty  smell  was  extremely  distasteful  to  his  delicate 
nerves,  but  he  had  not  the  heart  to  appear  ungrateful.  So 
he  sat  down  calmly  on  the  bench  near  the  wall,  while  John 
dived  into  the  adjoining  kitchen  to  hunt  up  his  lady-love. 

He  believes  till  this  day,  does  John,  that  he  spent  two 
minutes  in  that  kitchen.  In  reality  he  remained  there  for 
more  than  ten.  Cupid  may  not  be  so  blind  as  some  people 
like  to  believe  him,  but,  if  not  blind,  he  certainly  never  has 
learnt  to  look  at  the  clock. 

Elias,  meanwhile,  sat  alone  with  the  tramp,  of  whose 
presence  he  was  at  first  unconscious.  The  tramp,  on  his 
part,  who  was  not  asleep,  as  John  had  flattered  himself,  but 
merely  drowsy,  recognised  Elias,  as  soon  as  his  eyes — i.  e. 
the  tramp's — had  distinguished  in  the  dusky  atmosphere 
the  lines  of  the  blind  man's  face.  For  this  poor  wayfarer 
was  a  person  well  known  in  all  the  country  round,  a  deaf 
and  dumb  pedlar  called  Jops,  and  he  would  not  have  been  a 
stranger  to  John,  had  that  enamoured  swain  caught  a 
glimpse  of  his  features.  He  often  brought  up  his  ribbons 
and  reels  of  thread  to  the  Villa,  and  Johanna  would  buy  of 
him,   and   Elias   had   given  him    a   penny   many   a   time. 

Jops  was  deaf  and  dumb,  but  he  had  learnt,  like  so  many 
of  his  kind,  to  read  the  motions  of  the  lips  with  a  dexterity 
which  minimised  the  difficulties  of  conversation  with  him, 
if  only  you  took  care  to  speak  slowly  and  to  exaggerate  the 
action  of  the  mouth.  He  could  answer  you  by  guttural 
notes  and  noises  which,  though  hideous  in  themselves,  were 
fairly  intelligible  to  those  Avho  cared  to  concentrate  their  at- 
tention upon  them,  and,  in  addition  to  this,  he  was  perfectly 


TWO   BROTHERS  IN  MISFORTUNE.  263 

at  home  in  the  ordinary  dumb  alphabet,  which  lie  used  with 
the  few  who  understand  it. 

He  had  often  watched  Johanna  in  her  intercourse  with 
Elias,  and  had  long  yearned  for  an  opportunity  of  contact 
with  this  great  gentleman  who  was  his  brother  in  affliction. 
How  well  he  would  be  able  to  speak  to  him,  far  better  than 
all  these  menials,  who  never  properly  took  the  trouble  to 
learn. 

Xo  sooner  had  he  seen  this  utterly  unexpected  oppor- 
tunity, than  he  slouched  rapidly  across  the  room,  and,  tak- 
ing Elias's  hand,  spelt  across  it  with  his  own  gnarled  and 
dirty  fingers : 

"  Good-day,  sir." 

Elias  was  alarmed.  "  Who  are  you  ?  "  he  said.  "  John, 
who  is  it?     It's  a  strange  man.     I  don't  know  his  hand." 

The  pedlar  quickly  told  him,  and  bade  him  not  to  be 
frightened.  He  would  stop  if  it  was  displeasing  to  Myn- 
heer, said  Jops.  He  was  deaf,  too,  like  Mynheer,  and  dumb 
into  the  bargain.  Mynheer  would  remember  having  bought 
of  him.  He  had  hoped  it  would  not  be  displeasing  to 
Mynheer,  he  repeated,  if  he  spoke. 

K"o,  it  was  not  displeasing  to  Mynheer.  The  first  shock 
over,  Elias  even  followed  with  increasing  interest  the  clear, 
quick  touches  upon  his  hand.  How  seldom  the  blind  gen- 
tleman had  an  opportunity  of  conversation  with  any  one 
but  his  two  or  three  attendants.  He  was  delighted  to  find 
how  well  he  understood,  even  though  the  alphabet  differed 
here  and  there  from  the  simplified  code  Johanna  was  in  the 
habit  of  using.  Jops  crossed  over  to  the  other  end  of  the 
table,  and  turned  the  paraffin  lamp  so  that  its  light  should 
fall  full  on  Elias's  face,  and  thus  entire  communication  was 
established  between  them.  This  new  mystery  Elias  did  not 
comprehend,  but  his  inelastic  brain  was  content  to  acquiesce 
in  it.  And  so  they  sat  together  by  the  soiled  deal  table  in 
the  murky  little  tap-room — with  the  glare  of  the  lamp,  from 
which  the  shade  had  been  removed,  ujjon  them  and  their 


264  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sordid  surroundings — so  they  sat,  close  to  each  other,  bend- 
ing forward  over  the  juncture  of  their  hands,  the  simple- 
brained,  useless  millionaire,  and  the  quick,  clever  beggar, 
linked  by  their  common  alfliction,  eager  to  make  the  most 
of  the  brief  union  which  fate  had  seemed  to  afford  them. 
And  in  those  few  moments  J  ops  communicated  to  his  com- 
panion several  interesting  facts  concerning  himself  and  his 
surroundings  which  had  previously  been  entirely  unknown 
to  the  lonely  gentleman.     But  of  these  more  anon. 

"And  do  you  like  going  about  and  selling?  Is  it  not 
very  amusing  ?  "  said  Elias,  presently.  "  I  am  rich,  as  you 
say,  but  I  am  often  so  dull." 

"  In  the  summer  it  is  not  so  bad,"  answered  Jops,  "  but 
in  the  winter  sometimes  it  is  terrible.  So  cold.  And  often 
nothing  earned  in  the  end." 

"  Then  why  do  you  not  stop  in  the  winter  ?  If  I  were 
you,  I  should  sell  in  the  summer  only." 

"  Stop  !  How  can  I  stop?"  answered  the  pedlar,  impa- 
tiently. He  was  angry  with  the  rich  man's  "  insouciance." 
He  had  to  spell  his  words  more  calmly,  however,  before 
Elias  could  understand. 

"  Who  Avill  give  me  bread  if  I  stop  ?  As  it  is,  I  often 
have  not  enough  to  eat  in  the  winter.  We  can't  all  sit  in 
our  fine  houses  like  you." 

"  But,  if  you  have  no  bread,  the  i-ich  people  give  it  you." 

"  Not  they,  as  a  rule,  unless  I  earn  it." 

"  Of  course  you  earn  it.  But  if  you  can't  earn  it,  they 
give  it." 

"  Ha,  ha  !     Not  they." 

There  was  a  short  pause.  Then  Elias  asked,  a  little 
tremulously : 

"Are  you  sometimes  hungry,  do  you  mean  to  say? — 
without  getting  bread  ?  " 

Jops  looked  into  the  beautiful,  blind  face.  AYas  this 
brother  in  affliction  fooling  him  ? 

"  Oh  no,"  he  spelt  back  savagely,  "  nor  I  nor  any  of  the 


TWO  BROTHERS  IN   MISFORTUNE.  265 

others.  The  people  Avho  die  of  starvation  do  it  for  fun,  with 
sacks  of  potatoes  in  the  ceUar.  And  the  little  children, 
they  like  it,  too,  cold,  and  hunger,  and  want." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,"  said  Elias  quietly.  He  had  never 
come  into  contact  with  irony  before.  "  I  am  glad  they  like 
it,  though  I  cannot  think  why  they  should.  I  do  not  like 
being  cold  or  hungry,  but  I  do  not  quite  understand." 

At  this  moment  the  door  which  led  to  the  kitchen  was 
thrust  back.  The  pedlar  saw  it  begin  to  move,  and,  Avith 
one  dart,  he  regained  his  former  place  at  the  other  end  of 
the  long  table.  Once  more  he  fell  forward  on  his  arms  and 
pretended  to  be  asleep. 

John  came  into  the  room  and  respectfully  touched  his 
master's  arm.  Elias  rose,  dreamily.  "  Do  you  think  we 
had  better  be  going,  John  ? "  he  said.  "  Yes,  Johanna 
might  begin  to  get  anxious.  Then  I  must  say  good-bye, 
Jops.  You  must  come  and  see  me  as  soon  as  you  can.  I 
am  much  obliged  to  you  for  having  talked  to  me.  I  have 
no  money  with  me,  but  I  will  give  you  some  when  you 
come.  And  if  you  know  of  any  who  want  money  and  can't 
get  it,  you  must  bring  them  to  me.  I  promise  that  I  shall 
give  it  them." 

All  this,  spoken  with  Elias's  wearisome  utterance,  was, 
of  course,  lost  on  the  deaf  and  dumb  pedlar,  asleep  with  his 
eyes  on  the  table.  But  to  John  it  conveyed  confusion 
and  alarm.  He  ran  to  the  individual  in  the  corner  and 
shook  him  violently.  The  pedlar  lifted  up  a  frightened 
face,  which  in  no  wise  lessened  the  footman's  apprehension. 
"Jops,  by  Jove,"  he  muttered.  But,  explanations  being 
impossible,  he  resolved  to  seek  safety  in  flight,  and  walked 
home  as  quickly  as  he  could  with  his  now  entirely  silent 
charge. 

"  Mynheer  was  tired,  Juffrouw,"  he  said  in  the  course  of 
his  accurate  and  circumstantial  report, "  and  so  we  sat  down 
for  a  moment  in  a  higlily  respectable  cottage  by  the  road- 
side.    As  it  happened,  the  deaf  and  dumb  pedlar  came  past, 


2G6  GOD'S  FOOL. 

and,  as  he  pretended  he  could  talk  to  Mynheer,  I  quickly 
came  away  again." 

"  In  a  cottage  ?  You  should  hardly  have  done  that," 
said  Johanna.  "  Of  course  you  did  not  leave  Mynheer  for 
one  moment  alone  ?  " 

"  I — oh,  Juffrouw ! — what  are  you  thinking  of  ?  It 
would  be  as  much  as  my  place  is  worth,  not  to  speak  of  the 
danger  to  the  poor  dear  gentleman." 

"It  would  indeed,"  retorted  Johanna  grimly.  But, 
nevertheless,  she  was  fairly  well  satisfied,  as  much  so  as  could 
have  been  expected,  her  absence  being  unavoidable.  "  You 
have  managed  very  well,  John,"  she  said  patronisingly.  "  I 
don't  wonder  you  feel  personal  sympathy  for  your  unfortu- 
nate master.  But  it  is  pleasant  to  think  one  can  trust  a 
servant  in  such  matters  as  these." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


"  A    FOOL   AND   HIS    MONEY." 


But  when  she  helped  her  charge  to  hed,  as  was  her 
nightly  custom,  Johanna  discovered  that  her  sensation  of 
relief  at  Elias's  safe  return  had  been  somewhat  premature. 

The  idiot  was  unusually  silent,  wrapped,  as  it  seemed,  in 
the  cloud  of  his  own  untransparent  thoughts.  "  What  is  it, 
Jasje  ?  "  asked  the  old  nurse  once  or  twice.  He  only  shook 
his  head  in  answer. 

Presently,  however,  when  the  time  came  for  repeating 
his  few  sentences  of  evening  prayer,  Elias  drew  back.  "  Dear 
boy,  what  is  it  ?  Tell  Johanna.  Are  you  ill  ?  "  the  poor 
old  woman  repeated  in  anguish  of  mind. 

"  Johanna,"  suddenly  burst  out  the  fool  with  what  for 
him  was  impetuosity,  "  why  do  some  people  like  to  be  miser- 
able and  cold  and  to  die  of  hunger  ?  " 

"  Nobody  does,"  replied  Johanna.  "  You  mustn't  trouble 
your  head  about  such  nonsense." 

"  Then  what  makes  them  do  it  if  they  don't  like  ?  They 
don't  do  it,  do  they  ?    It's  only  a  joke  ?  " 

Johanna  had  always  striven,  as  far  as  she  possibly  could, 
to  keep  the  knowledge  of  human  suffering  from  Elias's 
mind.  "  Pie  has  enough  to  bear  as  it  is,"  she  would  say. 
"  What  is  the  use  of  acquainting  him  with  sorrows  he  can 
do  nothing  more  than  he  does  already  to  alleviate?  These 
thiugs  would  only  prey  upon  his  mind."  So  slie  encour- 
aged him  in  the  theory  which  he  had  worked  out  for  him- 
self that  the  relations  between  rich  and  poor  were  regulated 
by  an  incessantly  sliding  scale  of  supply  and  demand. 


268  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Nevertheless  she  had  often  asked  herself  whether  she 
was  not  keeping  a  source  of  comfort  from  Elias.  For  to 
her  coarser  nature  it  was  very  plain  that  we  derive  our  chief- 
est  satisfaction  from  the  contemplation  of  suffering  in 
others.  And  so  she  went  as  far  as  she  dared,  Avarned  back 
beyond  certain  limits  by  a  dread  of  his  hyper-sensitive  sym- 
pathy. "  You  are  not  able  to  see,  but  you  have  beautiful 
flowers  all  the  same.  You  are  deaf,  but  you  can  go  driving 
in  a  fine  carriage."  A  continual  balance  of  plus  and  minus. 
You  have  more  privations,  but  also  more  comforts  than 
other  people.  Elias  understood  that  comforts  and  privations 
were  irregularly  scattered  over  the  world.  But  he  had 
never  known  that  there  existed  wants  which  man  might  per- 
haps have  relieved,  and  did  not. 

"  Some  people  are  rich  and  some  are  poor,  Jasje,"  said 
Johanna  evasively. 

"  I  know.     But  the  rich  help  the  poor." 

"  Not  always.  They  cannot  always.  Now,  you  are  rich, 
Elias,  but  you  are  deaf,  and  blind.  Most  poor  people  are 
not,  and  are  more  fortunate  than  you." 

"  Not  always  !  "  cried  Elias,  who  had  only  heard  the  first 
two  words.  "  Not  always !  Not  always !  And  if  they 
don't,  what  happens  then  ?  They  don't  like  to  be  hungry. 
Nor  do  I.  I  don't  believe  it.  I  understand.  They  are 
unhappy  at  being  hungry  just  as  I  was  at  being  blind. 
Nobody  can  make  me  see  again,  but  if  you're  hungry,  every- 
body can  give  you  bread.     Why  don't  they  ?  " 

"  Hush,  hush,  Elias,"  entreated  Johanna  drawing  him 
towards  her.  She  wanted  to  tell  him  how  much  is  done  for 
the  deserving  poor,  but  he  broke  away  from  her,  too  excited 
to  listen. 

"  I  won't  pray,"  he  cried.  "  What's  the  use  of  praying, 
if  Grod  doesn't  do  it  ?  Does  God  let  the  people  die  of  hun- 
ger ?  He  can't  be  good,  Johanna,  as  you  always  say,  if  I 
ask  him  to  give  them  bread  and  he  doesn't  do  it.  Why 
doesn't  he  do  it  when  he  can  ?  " 


"A  FOOL  AND  HIS  MONEY."  269 

Johanna  was  horror-struck  by  this  wild  rush  of  blas- 
phemy. She  shuddered  in  her  comfortable  little  soul. 
What  to  answer  she  knew  not.  But,  fortunately,  for  the 
moment  no  answer  was  required  of  her.  Elias  stood,  away 
in  the  shade  of  the  lofty  room,  his  long  nightdress  falling 
round  his  majestic  figure,  his  golden  head  uplifted  in  im- 
potent protest.  He  looked  like  some  priest  or  prophet  of  a 
religion  long  since  dead,  in  that  flowing  white  garment. 
The  veil  had  dropped,  as  it  seemed,  from  his  eyes.  They 
were  blazing  into  the  darkness  before  him  like  stars  that 
vainly  seek  to  illumine  the  night. 

"  God  will  surely  help  them,  if  we  ask  him,"  he  mur- 
mured more  calmly.  "  I  have  never  asked  him  yet,  and 
perhaps  he  doesn't  know.  Oh,  Johanna,  you  should  have 
told  me  to  ask  him." 

And  he  sank  down  on  his  knees  and  began  aloud :  "  0 
God,  there  are  a  lot  of  people  who  haven't  got  any  bread. 
Please  give  it  them,  0  God,  and  clothes  also,  and  make 

them "  suddenly  he  stopped.     "  But  they  are  asking  for 

themselves,"  he  cried  in  fresh  anguish.  "  They  can  ask  as 
well  as  I ;  and  he  doesn't  hear  them.  It  must  be  that  they 
don't  know  about  him ;  why  don't  people  tell  them  ? 
Johanna,  come  here  to  me.  Come !  If  you  know  about 
God,  for  you  told  me,  why  don't  you  tell  everybody  else  ? 
They  are  dying  of  hunger  because  you  never  told  them. 
Oh  Johanna,  you  are  a  very,  very  wicked  woman  !  Oh,  how 
could  you  be  so  horribly  wicked  not  to  tell !  "  And  at  this 
sudden  loss  of  all  that  he  held  most  dear,  Elias,  for  the  first 
time  that  evening,  burst  into  tears. 

Once  more  she  tried  to  soothe  him.  It  was  not  soothing 
he  wanted  but  the  truth. 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  them?"  he  reiterated.  "How 
could  you  keep  it  only  for  me  ?  " 

"  They  know,  dearest,"  she  answered,  pressing  him 
tightly  to  her  motherly  bosom.  "God  thinks  it  best  for 
them  to  leave  them  poor." 


270  GOD'S   FOOL. 

"  Poor  !  "  he  cried  passionately.  "  I  am  not  speaking  of 
'  poor.'  It  is '  breadless '  I  am  speaking  of.  Oh  Johanna ! 
They  are  breadless.     And  he  knotvs.''^ 

He  lay  trembling  against  her  breast.  A  fever  spot 
burned  on  his  cheeks.  And  gradually  he  sank  into  a  silence 
which  was  not  the  usual  dulness  after  intellectual  exertion, 
but  the  unusual  slow  fluttering  exhaustion  of  an  emotion 
too  strong  for  his  powers  of  control. 

His  condition  alarmed  her.  She  was  soon  alarmed  by 
anything  out  of  the  common  in  the  placid  flow  of  her 
charge's  healthy  existence.  She  felt  his  pulse,  anxiously, 
once  or  twice,  and  then  she  softly  slipped  his  head  down  on 
to  the  sofa  cushion  next  to  her,  and  rang  the  bell,  and  sent 
the  coachman  for  the  doctor. 

The  movement  roused  Elias.  "  What  is  the  matter  ? " 
he  asked  feebly.  "  Oh,  I  know.  I  remember.  They  are 
all  hungry.  He  said  so.  And  the  children  cry.  And 
nobody  helps  them.  What  are  you  doing,  Johanna?  Are 
you  going  to  help  them  ?    Somebody  must !  " 

She  took  his  hand  in  hers  again.  She  knew  not  what  to 
do  or  say.  "  I  have  sent  for  your  good  old  friend.  Doctor 
Pillenaar,"  she  told  him,  "  he  is  sure  to  put  everything 
right,  as  he  always  does." 

"  I  w^ant  no  doctor,"  said  Elias  impatiently.  "  I  am  not 
ill.  I  want  Jops ;  he  must  tell  me  more  about  it,  and 
advise  me.     No,  Jops  told  me  they  liked  it.     He  tells  lies." 

Johanna  was  more  distracted  than  ever.  She  felt  dimly 
that  the  dumb  pedlar  must  be  responsible  for  at  least  part 
of  the  mischief.     But  how  ? 

"  The  kind  gentleman  might  help,  but  not  the  doctor," 
said  Elias,  "  the  kind  gentleman  who  used  to  come  long  ago, 
and  tired  my  head  " — he  meant  his  father's  Notary. — "  Send 
for  the  kind  gentleman,  Johanna.  Send  for  him  at  once. 
He  told  me  he  could  take  all  the  maney  that  was  mine  and 
do  what  he  liked  with  it.  Johanna,  perhaps  at  this  moment 
they  are  dying  like  that  in  Koopstad.     They  must  go  and 


"A  FOOL  AND  HIS  MONEY."  271 

tell  him  to  come  at  once  and  bring  all  my  money  with  him. 
And  Hendrik  must  come  too.  I  won't  sleep.  I  can't  sleep. 
Oh,  Johanna,  you  don't  care  to  help.  You  are  a  wicked 
woman,  and  I  thought  j^ou  were  so  good."  That  idea  to 
him  seemed  almost  worst  of  all. 

The  doctor,  on  his  arrival,  obtained  such  inadequate  in- 
formation as  the  agitated  nurse  was  able  to  bestow.  He 
examined  his  patient  and  found  him  in  a  condition  of 
nervous  excitement  for  which  no  reason,  it  seemed,  could  be 
adduced.  He  was  alarmed,  for,  in  the  abnormally  diseased 
state  of  Elias's  brain,  any  complications  might  lead  on  to 
unexpectedly  disastrous  results.  "  It  is  a  mental  strain,"  he 
said.  "  You  must  calm  him.  At  all  costs  you  must  calm 
him.     His  pulse  is  at  fever-height." 

"  Mynheer  is  continually  asking  for  the  Notary,"  said 
Johanna.  "And  for  his  brother.  But  I  did  not  like  to 
trouble  anyone  so  late." 

"  If  he  asks  for  them,  he  must  have  them,"  said  Doctor 
Pillenaar.  "  Anything  to  quiet  him  and  give  the  brain 
rest."     So  fresh  messages  were  sent  out. 

"  I  must  have  the  kind  gentleman  to  help  me,"  Elias  re- 
peated over  and  over  again.  "  Ask  Doctor  Pillenaar  to  help 
me,  Johanna.  If  God  doesn't  do  it,  we  must  do  it  our- 
selves.    Perhaps  he  waits,  because  he  wants  us  to  begin." 

When  Hendrik  made  his  appearance,  the  same  refrain 
greeted  his  ears.  The  Notary  came  latest.  He  had  been 
absent  from  home  when  the  messenger  arrived  there.  Hen- 
drik looked  up  in  indignant  amazement  and  exchanged  a 
formal  bow  with  the  new-comer.  The  brothers,  Hendrik 
and  Hubert — it  will  be  remembered — had  quarrelled  with 
their  father's  legal  adviser  about  the  reconstruction  of  the 
firm  with  Elias's  money.  Notary  Borlett  was  the  last  man 
whom  Hendrik  wished  to  meet  in  the  idiot's  bedroom. 

The  three  gentlemen  stood  grouped,  in  an  irregular  half 
circle,  round  the  shining  white  bed  in  its  cold  emptiness 


272  GOD'S  FOOL. 

and  the  big  chair  by  its  side,  on  which  Elias  lay  in  the 
dressing-gown  Johanna  had  thrown  round  him.  The  old 
nurse  had  sunk  down  by  this  chair,  with  one  arm  over  its 
back.  She  held  her  darling's  hand  in  hers  and  looked  anx- 
iously from  him  to  his  visitors,  and  then  back  again  into 
his  troubled,  sightless  face.  Her  look  said :  "  Help  him ! 
He  cannot  help  himself !  "  The  full  glow  from  the  lamp  on 
the  bed-table  made  a  bright  spot  round  the  little  group. 
And  the  three  men  stood  in  the  half-light  and  looked  on, 
and  knew  not  what  assistance  to  bestow.  They  were  men 
of  the  world,  men  of  the  clear,  straightforward,  hard-work- 
ing mid-day  of  life;  what  understood  they  of  Elias's  clouds 
and  shadows?  The  world  was  cruel,  ruthless,  crushing  all 
who,  through  their  own  unfitness,  were  not  strong  enough 
to  resist  it.  Life  was  a  law  of  political  economy.  Statisti- 
cally it  was  perfectly  correct  that  a  percentage  of  super- 
fluous humanity  died  of  hunger,  and  ought  to  die  of  hun- 
ger, every  year. 

"  Tell  the  kind  gentleman,  Johanna,"  said  Elias,  appeal- 
ing to  his  old  friend  in  fear  of  the  stranger.  "  Tell  him 
that  I  hope  he  has  brought  all  my  money  with  him.  I  want 
all  of  it  to  be  given  to  the  people  who  have  got  no  bread, 
and  no  clothes,  and  no  fires.  All  of  it.  He  must  divide  it. 
Like  Johanna  does  at  Easter  and  Christmas-tide." 

The  three  looked  at  each  other.  Hendrik  Lossell  smiled 
a  painful  little  smile,  and  shifted  from  the  right  foot  to  the 
left. 

"Explain  to  him,  my  good  woman,"  said  the  Notary, 
"  that  it  can't  be  done." 

And  Johanna  explained.  And  she  reasoned  with  him, 
following  the  Notary's  and  the  doctor's  promptings  and  re- 
peating their  arguments.  But  none  of  them  had  reckoned 
on  that  obstinacy,  which  is  so  often  the  refuge  of  the  weak- 
willed. 

"  I  want  it  all  to  be  given  to  the  people  who  haven't  got 
enough,"  said  Elias.     "  All  except  what  is  wanted  for  Jo- 


"A  FOOL  AND  HIS  MONEY."  273 

hanna  and  me.  Jops  says  I  have  a  hundred  times  more 
than  I  require.  Of  course  I  know,  Notary,  that  there  must 
be  rich  people  and  poor  people.  But  there  mustn't  be  hun- 
gry people.    Johanna,  must  there  be  hungry  people?" 

"  I  loill  give  it,"  he  cried,  suddenly  starting  up  in  a  fury 
of  excitement.  "  Let  me  have  it.  You  said  it  was  mine. 
Everybody  says  it  is  mine.  Jops  told  me  I  could  give  it 
away,  if  I  chose,  when  I  asked  him.  I  will  give  it."  He 
made  as  if  he  would  rush  from  the  room.  In  vain  Johanna 
tried  to  speak  into  his  hand.  He  thrust  her  away.  "  You 
are  murderers,"  he  said.  "  You  are  robbers,  the  rich  people. 
Jops  said  so.  I  did  not  understand  him.  And  he  tells  lies, 
for  he  says  the  poor  people  like  to  starve.  But  I  don't  be- 
lieve him.  I  don't  believe  you.  I  won't  let  them.  Give 
me  my  money.  I  will  have  my  money.  All  of  it.  I  loill 
give  it  away.  Johanna,  send  for  the  police  to  take  it 
away . " 

He  was  galvanised  into  new  energy  by  his  pity  and  his 
indignation.  He  stood  opposite  them  in  all  the  glory  of  his 
manhood,  his  great  eyes  aglow  with  love  and  hope. 

"  I  am  a  fool,  they  say  ! "  he  cried — by  what  cruel  indis- 
cretion had  he,  the  carefully  sheltered,  penetrated  to  that 
truth  ? — "  but  I'll  do  it.  I'll  leave  nobody  any  rest  till  I've 
done  it.  You  won't.  God  can't.  I'll  give  it.  I'm  im- 
mensely rich.  I  can  do  it.  I  won't  have  anybody  hungry, 
Hendrik.  Doctor,  Johanna,  make  the  Notary  give  me  my 
money.     Take  it  away  ! " 

"  Doctor,"  said  Hendrik  impatiently,  "  give  the  poor 
creature  a  potion  and  put  him  to  sleep." 

But  already  Elias's  fictitious  vitality  had  spent  itself. 
He  sank  down  in  his  chair,  and  burying  his  face  in  his 
hand,  he  shook  with  hysterical  weeping. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor  gravely.  "  The  best  thing  will 
be  to  enable  him  to  sleep,  at  least  for  to-night." 

As  the  Notary  and  the  Merchant  went  slowly  down  the 
stairs  together,  the  Notary  said  hesitatingly  :  "  If  this  mood 


274:  GOD'S  FOOL. 

lasts,  you  will  have  to  get  Curators  appointed,  Mynheer 
Lossell." 

"  It  will  pass  off,"  said  Hendrik. 

"  But  supposing  it  were  not  to,  supposing  he  were  to  re- 
peat his  demand,  what  am  I  to  do  ?  He  may  appeal  to  an- 
other less  scrupulous  man.  He  is  capable  of  appealing  to 
the  streets  at  large.  Look  how  he  has  been  influenced 
already  by  some  person  who  seems  somehow  to  have  spoken 
to  him.  He  is,  legally,  of  sound  mind  and  able  to  do  what 
he  chooses.  If  he  insists  upon  taking  his  fortune  into  his 
own  hand,  or  upon  throwing  it  out  of  window,  who  can 
prevent  him  ?  " 

"Are  you  sure,"  questioned  Hendrik,  stopping  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs,  "  that  they  would  declare  him  insane? 
The  judges,  I  mean,  not  the  doctors.  You  know  what  end- 
less formalities  intervene,  and  how  apt  they  are  to  refuse  ?  " 

"  At  any  rate,  you  might  try,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  I  can't,"  cried  Hendrik.  "  You  know  I  can't.  I  can't 
have  a  curatorship  on  any  account.     It  means  ruin." 

"  The  other  alternative  seems  not  to  mean  much  else," 
said  the  lawyer  laconically.  He  thought  Lossell  expressed 
himself  in  exaggerated  terms. 

They  got  into  a  conveyance  which  the  Notary  had  in 
waiting,  but  they  exchanged  not  another  word  on  their  way 
to  the  town. 

"  How  is  he  ?  "  asked  Cornelia,  coming  to  meet  her  hus- 
band in  the  hall,  lamp  in  hand. 

"  As  healthy  as  ever,  only  a  little  more  mad,"  answered 
Hendrik  curtly.  And  he  passed  into  his  own  sitting-room 
without  another  word  and  locked  himself  in. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

the"  RUBICON. 

On  the  following  morning,  at  half-past  six,  as  soon  as 
the  servants  were  stirring,  the  master  of  the  house  unlocked 
the  door  of  his  private  room,  and  came  out  into  the  hall, 
with  white  face  and  rumpled  hair.  He  had  not  quitted  the 
room  all  night.  What  had  he  done  there  ?  He  could  not 
have  told  you.     Sat  and — thought. 

"  Somebody  must  take  this  note  to  Mynheer  Alers  at 
once,"  he  cried  out.  And  he  threw  an  envelope  down  on 
the  hall-table,  and  fled  back  into  his  sanctuary  before  the 
surprised  glances  of  the  housemaid. 

A  couple  of  hours  later  Thomas  Alers  stood  in  Hen- 
drik's  presence,  a  triumphant  smile  discreetly  minimised 
about  the  corners  of  his  thin  lips.  In  his  hand  he  held  the 
paper  which  had  summoned  him.  It  contained  no  other 
words  than  these : 

"  Come  to  me  immediately,  this  morning,  as  early  as 
possible.  Hendrik." 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Thomas,  running  through  a  whole  gamut 
over  the  one  syllable.  He  was  too  wise  to  begin  at  once  the 
triumphant  praises  of  his  "  Syndicate." 

"  We  must  be  friends  again,  Thomas,"  cried  Hendrik, 
holding  out  a  hot  little  hand,  "  I  can't  do  without  you.  We 
can  only  harm  each  other  apart,  and  we  can  help  each  other 
together.  I'll  look  into  your  plan,  and,  if  I  possibly  can, 
I'll  undertake  to  assist  you." 


276  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  All  right,"  replied  Tliomas  coolly.  "  You  don't  assist 
me,  though.  It's  to  your  own  advantage.  You'll  make  a 
lot  of  money  by  it.  And  what  further  service  can  I  do  you  ? 
For  that,  I  suppose,  is  the  meaning  of  this  sudden  outburst 
of  affection." 

"  Don't,  Thomas,"  said  Hendrik,  with  a  gasp  as  if  of 
pain.  And  then  he  told  his  brother-in-law  what  had  hap- 
pened the  night  before. 

"  Cornelia  and  I  are  reconciled,"  he  said.  "  Everything 
was  settled,  and  now— now  this  difficulty  suddenly  comes 
looming  up.  What  am  I  to  do  ?  It  is  desperate.  As  soon 
as  a  curatorship  occurs,  not  a  share  can  be  alienated.  I  am 
definitely  clogged  till  his  death.  Even  supposing  the  Court 
might  be  cheated  into  connivance  —  which  is  doubtful 
though  possible — the  words  of  old  Elias's  will  cut  away  the 
ground  from  under  our  feet,  and  Hubert,  or  the  Notary, 
would  be  sure  to  split.  As  long  as  Elias  is  not  his  own 
master,  no  shares  can  be  sold.  It  is  for  that  very  rea- 
son we  decided  to  adopt  the  fiction  of  considering  him 

sane." 

"I  know— I  know,"  interrupted  Thomas  impatiently. 
"Old  Volderdoes  was  afraid  of  step-mothers  and  step- 
brothers. He  was  quite  right  from  his  point  of  view.  He 
wanted  to  prevent  his  son-in-law's  buying  up  the  business 
during  Elias's  minority.     He  was  evidently  a  cunning  old 

chap." 

"  And  now  Elias  is  resolved  to  throw  all  his  money  to 

the  dogs." 

"  And  if  you  treat  him  as  a  spendthrift,"  cried  Alers, 
not  altogether  unamused  by  his  friend's  dilemma,  "the 
curatorship  comes  in  again.*  And  you  are  no  farther  than 
you  were  before." 

Hendrik  sat  down  again  by  his  writing-table,  with  his 


•"•  Tn  Holland  the  family  of  a  spendthrift  can  obtain  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Curator. 


THE  RUBICON.  277 

head  between  his  hands — in  the  same  position  which  he  had 
retained  all  night — and  groaned. 

"  Look  hear,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Alers  after  a  moment. 
"  A  curatorship  is  out  of  the  question.  The  old  fellow's 
will  makes  it  impossible.  Elias  therefore  is  sane,  and  must 
remain  sane.     Always  remember  that.     He  is  sane." 

"  But  supposing  the  curator "  began  Hendrik  wildly 

— and  stopped. 

"  It  can't  be  done,"  replied  Thomas  calmly.  "  It's  too 
dangerous.  Besides,  there  is  always  the  second  man.  You 
needn't  think  Elias's  cousins  would  consent  to  your  pro- 
posing me.  One  of  them  would  take  Hubert's  place  until 
Hubert  comes  back.  No,  no,  that  is  impossible.  Elias  is 
sane,  and  you  must  try  to  make  the  best  of  his  insane 
sanity." 

"  But,  Alers,  if  he   scatters  the  money  right  and  left?- 
He  will  sell  all  his  shares  in  a  lump — at  once — now  ?    Who 
will  buy  them  !     I  can't.     Some  stranger.     That  is  worse 
even  than  a  curatorship." 

"  Nonsense  !  " 

"  He  will  do  it.  He  will  get  some  one  else  to  advise 
him.  He  repeatedly  said  so.  He  insisted  that  he  was  only 
going  to  keep  a  pittance  for  himself."  Hendrik  almost 
cried  with  fear  and  powerless  vexation. 

"He,  with  his  veneration  for  Volderdoes  Zonen?" 
asked  Thonias  sceptically. 

"  He  is  capable  of  anything.  A  madman.  "What  will 
you  have  ?  He  is  like  a  boy  of  eight  or  nine.  His  develop- 
ment has  stopped  with  the  beginning  of  his  illness.  But 
he  has  all  the  stupid  self-will  of  a  child  of  that  age.  The 
Notary  says  that  nothing  but  a  trusteeship  can  prevent  him. 
He  will  ruin  himself,  Tliomas.  He  will  ruin  us  all.  He 
may  throw  every  penny  he  possesses,  the  business  included, 
into  Jops's  hand  to-morrow,  or  leave  it  to  Johanna." 

"  Hush.  Hush,"  interposed  Thomas.  "  Matters  might 
have  been  worse.     In  this  country,  at  any  rate,  he  cannot 


278  GOD'S  FOOL. 

make  a  will  without  the  intervention  of  a  Notary.  Be 
thankful  for  that.  There  is  nothing  for  it,  my  good  Los- 
sell,  but  to  accept  the  disagreeable  facts  as  you  find  them 
and  to  make  the  best  of  the  whole  thing.  You  must 
humour  him,  and  thereby  you  must  win  his  confidence.  In- 
stead of  neglecting  him  as  you  have  foolishly  done  hitherto, 
you  must  try  and  somewhat  lessen  the  too  entire  influence 
of  Johanna.  You  must  learn  to  talk  to  him  without  her 
help.  And  then  you  must  advise  him  in  these  matters  and 
keep  him  from  flying  to  strangers.  All  this  mischief  has 
been  done,  you  say,  through  a  stujoid  talk  with  some  illiter- 
ate person.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  go  and  tell  him  that 
you  agree  with  him,  as  you  should  have  done  immediately 
last  night.  You  agree  with  him — entirely.  It  is  your  wish, 
also,  that  all  your  money  and  his  should  be  used  for  the 
poor.  But  if  you  give  it  all  at  once,  they  will  waste  it,  and 
be  as  poor  as  ever.  They  cannot  have  it  in  a  lump.  Surely 
he  will  be  able  to  understand  that.  Get  him  to  send  for 
someone  else  to  explain  the  same  thing  to  him — me,  for  in- 
stance. And  then  you  must  start  some  charity  for  him — 
in  moderation — and  interest  him  in  an  industrial  colony,  or 
a  home  for  fellow-idiots  or  something.  Get  him  to  com- 
prehend that  his  money  is  being  used  for  the  poor — gradu- 
ally— instead  of  being  wasted.  He  will  be  content  then. 
The  whole  thing  only  requires  a  little  common-sense  and 
good-nature.  You  are  far  too  fussy,  Hendrik,  and  too  ex- 
cited, if  you  wall  forgive  my  saying  so,  for  a  good  man  of 
business." 

"  That  may  be  all  very  well,"  replied  Hendrik,  "  but 
it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  such  a  trifle  will  content 
him." 

"  What  does  he  know  of  the  value  of  money  ?  Why  tell 
him  you  are  only  spending  a  trifle  ?  Leave  that  to  me.  We 
can  talk  it  all  over  later  on.  But  begin  by  telling  him,  as  I 
say,  that  you  perfectly  understand  and  entirely  agree  with 
him.     By  Jove,  he  is  not  much  ahead  of  our  modern  phi- 


THE  RUBICON.  279 

lanthropists.  Only  he  advocates  the  practice  of  what  they 
approve  of  in  theory.  There  is  no  profession  so  smoothly  free 
from  all  anxiety  in  our  days  as  that  of  the  pitiable  pauper. 
His  income  is  secure  from  all  chance  of  diminishment  by 
conversion  or  reduction  or  loss.  And  since  the  hysterical 
charity  of  our  soft- brained  and  soft-hearted  nation  has  taken 
to  supplying  a  meal  altogether  free  of  charge  to  whoever 
prefers  not  to  pay  for  one,  well — there  is  no  reason,  really, 
for  you  to  call  your  step-brother  mad.  They  might  at  least 
have  stuck  to  the  traditional  penny,  or  halfpenny " 

"  I  don't  care  about  all  that,"  said  Hendrik  peevishly. 
*'  I  will  try  to  convince  Elias,  as  you  suggest.  I  will  go  to 
him  immediately  after  breakfast.  And  you  are  right.  I 
must  keep  a  far  closer  watch  over  him.  But  it  is  very 
wear3'ing.  I  can't  stand  the  constant  strain  of  this  anxiety 
much  longer.     Heaven  knows  what  he  may  do  next." 

"  Come,  come,  he  has  been  wonderfully  quiet  till  now," 
remarked  Thomas  soothingly. 

"  That  may  be.  But  you  should  have  seen  him  yester- 
day, I  had  no  idea  he  could  be  like  that,  when  aroused. 
It  proves  that  he  can  become  capable  of  anything.  He  may 
easily  ruin  us  all  still.  I  don't  think  I  should  care  so  much 
if  once  he  were  out  of  the  business.  Alers,  I  vinst  get  him 
out  of  the  business,  and  that  more  quickly  than  hitherto. 
In  this  way  it  will  last  years." 

"  It  need  not,"  said  Thomas. 

Hendrik  was  silent  and  thoughtful  for  a  few  moments. 
"  He  has  a  will  of  his  own,  after  all,"  he  said  at  last.  "  I 
never  knew  that." 

"  In  fact,  he  is  not  an  idiot,"  remarked  Alers  teasingly. 

"  He  is  an  idiot,"  Hendrik  blazed  out  at  him.  "  An 
utter  idiot.     You  know  he  is." 

"  You  forget  that  he  can't  be,"  replied  Alers,  with  a 
sneer. 

And  then  they  talked  of  the  Syndicate.  Presently 
Mulder  came  to  the  door  with  the  morning's  letters.    There 


280  GOD'S  FOOL. 

was  one  from  Hubert  among  them.  Hendrik  tore  open  the 
envelope. 

He  ran  his  eyes  over  the  thin  foreign  sheets,  and 
suddenly  he  broke  out  into  a  cry  of  surprise. 

"  Hubert  writes  that  he  is  thinking  of  returning  home  I " 
he  exclaimed. 

Alers  broke  into  an  oath.     "  That  must  be  prevented," 

he  said.     "  D ,  that  must  be  prevented  at  all  costs,  old 

boy." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
A  fool's  thoughts. 

The  fool  sat  in  his  room.  His  eyes  were  closed.  God 
had  closed  them.  But  from  God,  who  is  Light,  no  darkness 
can  go  forth.  For  his  darkness  is  but  other  light  made 
manifest.  And  the  fool's  soul  was  light  with  that  darkness 
which  is  God's. 

He  bent  his  head  upon  his  hands  and  thought.  The 
golden  glitter  of  his  curls  swept  smoothly  over  his  shoulders. 
They  were  his  mother's  curls.  He  had  never  allowed  any 
one  to  shorten  them  since  his  father  had  told  him  this  in  the 
days  of  his  distant  childhood,  the  childhood  which  to  him 
was  both  yesterday  and  to-day,  and,  for  all  he  knew,  might 
be  to-morrow.  What  would  Mother  Margaretha  say,  if  she 
came  back — with  Hubert,  for  instance — and  found  that  Jo- 
hanna had  cut  off  her  darling's  curls  ? 

He  bent  his  head  upon  his  hands  and  thought.  Thought, 
with  him,  was  chiefly  consciousness  of  loving,  a  pleasant 
dwelling  upon  the  various  names  of  his  little  circle  of 
friends.  There  was  Jojianna,  in  the  first  place,  his  hourly 
companion,  his  constant  help — and  playmate.  She  was 
always  with  him.  She  had  always  been  with  him.  For  he 
could  not  remember  a  time  when  it  had  been  otherwise. 
Judith  Lossell  had  faded  as  completely  out  of  his  existence 
as  a  spectrum  drops  from  a  wall. 

And  then  there  was  Motlier  Margaretha,  whom  he  did 
not  remember  having  seen,  but  about  whom  he  remembered 
much  that  had  been  told  him.     The  vague  reminiscence  of 


282  GOD'S  FOOL. 

his  sunny  childhood  still  abode  with  him.  His  mother 
might  return.  She  could  still  send  him  messages  of  love. 
And  so  could  Hubert's  wife,  whose  name  was  also  Mar^a- 
retha.  They  were  the  same,  these  two,  and  yet  they  must 
be  different.     Elias  loved  the  two  in  one. 

And  there  was  his  father,  who  had  not  been  near  him 
for  so  many  years.  His  father  would  never  come  back  to 
see  him.  They  said  that  he  could  not,  because  he  was  dead. 
Dead.  That  meant  that  you  lived  in  a  country  whence  you 
could  never  come  out  to  see  those  whom  you  loved.  But 
his  mother,  M^as  she  not  dead  also  ?  His  mother  ?  There 
was  Judith,  whom  he  had  forgotten.  She  had  been  "  Mam- 
ma." Mother  Margaretha  could  not  be  dead.  Hubert 
knew  about  her,     Hubert  aud  Margaretha. 

Hubert  was  not  dead,  either,  although  Elias  had  not 
"seen"  him  for  many,  many  years.  But  Hubert  could 
come  back  some  day ;  he  was  always  speaking  of  it.  He  sent 
messages.  Father  had  never  sent  a  message  since  he  left  off 
coming.  Johanna  said  dead  people  never  did  so,  or  the  let- 
ters almost  constantly  went  astray  if  they  did.  Johanna 
believed  in  falliug  portraits  and  cracking  mirrors,  but  that 
is  neither  here  nor  there.     Elias  knew  nothing  of  these. 

He  would  meet  Hubert  soon  again.  But,  then,  he  would 
also  meet  his  dead  father  some  day.  Johanna  had  said  so. 
And  he  would  meet  Mother  Margaretha  also.  It  was  all 
very  confusing.     Where  were  the  limits  of  life  and  death  ? 

In  love  there  were  none. 

And  then  there  was  Hendrik.  Ah,  there  we  once  more 
returned  to  firmer  ground.  Hendrik  was  alive  and  well, 
and  came  frequently  to  see  him.  He  came  far  oftener  of 
late  than  he  used  to.  Elias  liked  Hendrik  fairly  satisfac- 
torily, not  with  such  depth  of  affection  as  he  felt  for  his  in- 
most circle,  but  quite  enough  to  rejoice  at  his  coming.  Be- 
sides, Hendrik  had  learned  to  talk  with  his  brother  much 
more  easily  of  late.  And  Elias  was  always  grateful  when 
any  one  took  the  trouble  to  converse  with  him.     He  would 


A  FOOL'S  THOUGHTS.  283 

even  have  appreciated,  on  that  account,  the  kindness  of  the 
gentleman  whom  Hendrik  repeatedly  brought  with  him, 
had  it  not  been  that  he  felt  an  insuperable  aversion  to  that 
soft-fingered  talker.  It  was  wrong  to  feel  an  aversion  to 
any  one. 

And  Hendrik  hel]3ed  him  in  that  momentous  money- 
difficulty  which  had  become  the  "  worry  "  of  his  life. 

Furthermore,  there  was  Cornelia,  Hendrik's  wife,  who 
came  very  rarely,  and  who  could  not  talk  to  him  when  she 
came.  Johanna  did  not  like  Cornelia.  But  then,  did  Jo- 
hanna like  Hendrik  ?  It  was  wrong  not  to  like  good  people, 
said  Johanna.    But,  surely,  Hendrik  and  Cornelia  were  good. 

Everybody  was  good,  except  the  bad  people ;  and  the 
bad  people  were  all  in  prison. 

The  strangest  thing  of  all  was  that  everybody  was  always 
telling  you  to  do  what  nobody  ever  thought  of  doing. 

And  Johanna  had  said What  had  Johanna  said  ? 

He  forgot  what  he  was  thinking  of.  Johanna  did  not  ap- 
prove of  Jops,  and  never  allowed  him  to  touch  Elias,  or  to 
speak  to  him  except  through  her.  Elias  had  been  very 
angry  about  this,  and  had  cried  and  stormed,  but  Johanna 
had  remained  firm.  After  all,  Elias  could  understand  her 
motives  to  a  certain  extent,  for  Jops  was  bad  and  told  lies. 
He  had  said  that  the  starving  little  children  liked  to  starve. 
Probably  he  would  have  been  put  in  prison,  had  it  not  been 
that  he  was  deaf  and  dumb. 

And  then  there  were  Dr.  Pillenaar,  his  old,  old  friend, 
who  was  always  kind,  and  the  Notary,  Avho  had  helped  him 
to  give  away  his  money,  and  there  was  John,  who  went 
walking  with  him,  and  the  gardener,  who  assisted  him  with 
his  flowers,  and  the  coachman,  who  allowed  him  to  give 
lumps  of  sugar  to  the  horses. 

And  there  were  the  roses  and  the  canaries,  and  the 
guinea-pigs,  and  the  cockatoo  and  the  big  cat.  And  the 
beautiful  azaleas,  and  the  camellias,  and  all  the  bright  treas- 
ures he  had  never  seen. 


284  GOD'S  FOOL. 

And  there  was  "  Tonnerre,"  whom  he  had  seen.  He 
remembered  him  quite  well.  He  did  not  know  how  long 
ago  it  was  since  he  had  played  with  him.  For  all  he  knew, 
it  might  have  been  last  week.  For  he  loved  the  little  ani- 
mal still. 

The  world  was  full  of  things  to  love.  Only  it  seemed  a 
pity  one  man  could  love  so  few.  And  he,  of  all  men,  could 
not  stretch  beyond  the  narrowest  bounds  of  his  horizon.  It 
was  a  grief  to  him,  which  he  realized  at  times  with  sudden 
poignancy,  that  his  heart  was  walled  in  as  well  as  his  brain. 
But  only  occasionally  did  he  rise  to  such  lucidity  of  regret- 
ful yearning.  As  a  rule,  he  rested  in  his  calm  benevolence, 
and  did  what  frequent  little  kindnesses  his  fettered  hand 
was  fit  to  do. 

"  And  I  love  you,  Elias,  you  know,"  he  said  aloud.  "  I 
love  you  very  much.  I  am  glad  there  is  always  you  left  to 
love,  and  talk  to,  and  think  about.  It  would  be  dreadful 
in  the  loneliness,  if  one  had  not  that.  '  Two's  company, 
and  three's  none,' "  says  Johanna.  "  I  am  glad  we're  always 
company." 

And  unwittingly  he  thanked  God  for  making  each  man 
— even  a  fool — companion  to  himself. 

And  then  his  head  grows  tired  and  the  clouds  come  sink- 
ing o'er  it.  It  is  night,  say  the  wise  men;  but  they  are 
mistaken.  Elias  knows  otherwise.  These  gray  vapours  are 
not  the  shades  of  evening,  but  the  mists  of  a  dark  noon- 
day. 

"  Everybody  loves,"  he  murmurs.  "  All  the  good  people. 
Johanna,  and  papa,  and  Hendrik,  and  Mother  Margaretha, 
and  Hubert,  and  Tonnerre,  and — and  everybody.  Elias 
loves  them  all.  Only — only  loving  them  all  sounds  like 
loving  nobody.  And  Elias  loves  one  more  than  another. 
Only  one  can't  reckon  out  how  or  why.  Elias  loves  Elias 
best  of  all." 

And  he  opens  his  great  eyes  on  the  world.  But  he  does 
not  know  they  are  open. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

AND   A   "WISE   man's   DEEDS. 

""Would  yoii  like  to  come  with  me  this  afternoon, 
Elias,"  says  Hendrik  Lossell,  "  and  see  how  your  colony  is 
getting  on  ?  "  He  has  learned  to  speak  quite  easily  now  on 
the  fingers,  and  the  two  brothers  can  converse  without  any 
aid  from  Johanna.  They  prefer  that  it  should  be  so. 
Elias  considers  it  pleasanter,  and  Hendrik — simpler. 

"  Yes,  I  should  like  to  go  very  much,"  Elias  replies.  "  I 
want  to  see  about  little  Tennis's  leg.  I  promised  him  I 
would  do  all  I  could  to  persuade  Dr.  Pillenaar  to  have  a  look 
at  it,  and  I  want  to  know  if  he's  been." 

So  they  start  together  in  Hendrik's  carriage,  which  has 
been  waiting  in  front  of  the  villa.  For  Hendrik  has  a  car- 
riage now.  Cornelia  is  confined  to  the  house  with  a  cold. 
It  is  not  often  that  Hendrik  gets  the  use  of  his  carriage. 
He  does  not  want  it  often.  There  are  plenty  of  trams  and 
cabs  in  the  city,  and  he  has  no  time,  as  a  rule,  for  country 
drives.  He  is  tied  down  to  his  business  all  day,  to  his  busi- 
ness, strictly  speaking,  and,  furthermore,  to  all  the  "extras." 
There  are  a  number  of  extras.  Sometimes  they  threaten  to 
overrun  the  "  teashop  "  altogether.  "  Oh,  bother  Elias's  tea- 
shop,"  says  Alers.  The  young  merchant  is  Town-Councillor, 
as  his  father  was,  and  a  man  of  considerable  importance  in 
Koopstad.  People  sometimes  whisper  to  each  other,  at  Cor- 
nelia's great  receptions,  that  Lossell  is  very  busy.  He  is 
really  too  busy,  you  know ;  you  hardly  ever  meet  him  in  his 
wife's  drawing-room. 


286  GOD'S   FOOL. 

Cornelia  has  a  bad  cold.  And  so  she  is  staying  at  home. 
For  there  is  to  be  one  of  Herr  Pfuhl's  select  concerts  in  her 
house  next  Tuesday,  and  she  does  not  want  the  Roman  nose 
to  look  red. 

There  is  nothing  that  Elias  enjoys  so  much  as  going  to 
visit  what  is  called  his  colony.  He  understands  now,  for  it 
has  been  made  very  plain  to  him,  that  the  rich  cannot 
scatter  all  their  money  among  the  poor  and  have  done  with 
the  matter.  The  poor  would  not  know  what  to  do  with  it. 
They  would  not  buy  bread  with  it.  They  would  waste  it, 
and  then  they  would  be  poor  and  hungry  again,  and  the 
rich,  being  poor  now  also,  would  no  longer  be  able  to  help 
them.  It  is  not  God's  intention  that  the  rich  should  make 
themselves  poor,  but  that  they  should  continue  to  be  rich 
so  as  to  be  able  to  assist  the  destitute.  It  is  exactly  as  Elias 
said,  as  he  had  found  out  for  himself :  God  made  the  rich, 
on  purpose  to  help  the  poor. 

And,  therefore,  Elias  has  his  colony  of  unfortunates. 
Houses  have  been  built,  into  which  applicants  are  received. 
Work  is  provided  for  those  who  can  work,  and  all  who  are 
entirely  unfitted  to  do  so,  are  cared  for,  even  as  Elias  is 
cared  for,  although  he  also  does  not  work.  Hendrik  is  very 
kind,  and  manages  it  all,  taking  an  immense  amount  of 
trouble,  in  spite  of  his  manifold  other  occupations.  Elias 
is  fond  of  Hendrik  because  of  this  constant  help  and  protec- 
tion. He  loves  him  for  it.  He  could  never  have  looked 
after  the  poor  people  himself.  He  has  no  idea  what  things 
cost,  or  what  is  the  relative  value  of  money,  capital  and  in- 
terest and  so  on.  But  Hendrik  arranges  these  matters,  and 
assures  him  that  all  his  money  is  spent,  as  wisely  as  possible, 
in  alleviating  the  suffering  of  his  fellow-men.  He  is  grate- 
ful to  Hendrik  for  that.  It  cannot  all  be  alleviated,  neither 
by  him,  nor  by  anyone  else.  Elias  does  not  understand  why 
not.  He  is  vexed  with  God  for  not  making  rich  people 
enough. 

And  so  he  goes  with  Hendrik  sometimes,  and  sits  in  the 


AND  A  WISE  MAN'S  DEEDS.  287 

cottages,  and  talks  to  the  people.  And  his  brother  interprets. 
They  are  all  filled  with  gratitude  towards  Elias.  They 
incessantly  call  him  their  benefactor.  And  they  as  invari- 
ably express  their  astonishment  that  he  can  do  so  much  for 
the  poor.  They  say  it  is  a  beautiful  thing  to  be  so  very  rich 
as  he  must  evidently  be.  Few  people  have  so  much  money 
to  spend,  and  still  fewer  of  those  who  have  spend  it  half  as 

well. 

He  likes  to  hear  all  this,  and  yet  he  does  not  like  it.  It 
gratifies  him,  and  it  humbles  him.  He  does  not  quite  know 
what  to  make  of  it.  Why  does  it  seem  so  agreeable  to  him  ? 
For,  if  God  made  the  rich  to  help  the  poor,  what  merit  is 
there  in  obeying  Him  ? 

He  comes  home  from  these  visits  perplexed  yet  pleased. 
And  as  they  drive  back  together,  Hendrik  repeats  to  him 
what  an  extensive  undertaking  the  Colony  is,  and  how  much 
money  it  cost,  money  which  would  never  be  Elias's  but  for 
Hendrik's  earning  it — for  "  Volderdoes  Zonen  "  has  been 
explained  away  into  "  Hendrik  Lossell,"  and  one  beneficent 
fiction  is  fast  fading  out  of  Elias's  life.  It  is  Hendrik  who 
works  hard  for  the  money  which  Elias  may  spend  on  the 
Colony.  "  But  the  money  is  mine  ?  "  Elias  queries  anxiously. 
"  Oh  yes,  the  money  is  yours.  I  work  for  it,  and  give  it 
you  ;  and  it  is  yours."  Elias  throws  his  arm  round  his 
brother's  neck,  and  kisses  him  in  the  carriage.  With  a 
brusque  movement  Hendrik  pushes  him  away  and  then,  as 
if  recollecting  himself,  he  gently  takes  his  hand.  Yes, 
Hendrik  is  good  to  Elias.  In  a  hundred  little  ways  he  is 
more  affectionate  and  thoughtful  than  he  used  to  be. 

And  one  day,  when  they  come  home  from  such  a  visit  to 
the  Colony,  Johanna  runs  out  to  meet  Elias  with  the  news 
that  there  is  a  letter  from  Hubert.  And  Elias  is  delighted, 
for  he  always  enjoys  a  letter  from  Hubert.  Doubtless  there 
will  be  a  message — a  kind  message — from  Margaretha.  He 
is  very  anxious  to  hear  his  letter.  And  Johanna  reads  it 
out  to  him,  with  Hendrik  standing  by.     She  first  says  the 


288  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sentences  half  aloud,  as  if  to  herself,  and  then  she  spells 
them  to  Elias.  "  Word  for  word " ;  that  he  invariably 
insists  on.  It  takes  a  long  time  to  get  through.  Occa- 
sionally, when  the  letter  is  a  long  one,  he  tires  before  they 
have  finished.  And  the  second  half  has  to  be  kept  for 
another  day. 

"  We  shall  now  soon  see  each  other  again,"  writes  Hu- 
bert. Why  does  Hendrik  start  and  turn  pale  ?  Elias  can- 
not see  that,  and  Johanna  does  not  notice  it.  "  This  time 
it  will  be  real,  not  an  empty  promise,  as  was  the  case  two 
years  ago.  You  know  our  plans  were  altered  then  " — ("  I 
forget,"  says  Elias) — "  and  Hendrik  and  I  concluded  it 
would  be  best  for  me  to  remain  here  a  little  longer.  But 
now  I  am  really  coming  back,  and  Margaretha  with  me,  of 
course,  and  the  four  children.  You  will  get  to  know  them 
all,  I  hope,  and  they  will  be  company  for  you.  It  will  be 
very  pleasant— will  it  not,  dear  Elias?— to  see  each  other 
again.     I  am  writing  to  Hendrik  about  it  by  this  mail." 

"  Hendrik  has  gone  away  without  saying  '  Good-bye ' 
to  me,"  complains  Elias  a  few  minutes  later.  "  Why  did 
he  go  away  so  quickly,  Johanna?" 

How  much  of  all  this  does  Elias  remember  ?  How  much 
has  he  ever  clearly  realized  and  understood  ?  The  wall  still 
shuts  him  out  from  the  world  around  him,  the  prison-wall 
that  casts  him  back  upon  himself.  And  across  it  flit  the 
shadows,  unsteady  in  their  movement,  uncertain  in  their 
shape.  He  catches  at  them,  and  they  are  gone.  And  as  he 
sinks  back,  disappointed,  they  reappear. 

The  fool  sits  in  his  room.     His  eyes  are  closed. 


CHAPTER  XXXVL 

TWO   RIGHTS   AND   NO   WRONG. 

"  Do  yon  know  what  day  it  is  to-day,  Hendrik?  "  asked 
Cornelia.  She  had  come  into  his  room  without  preliminary 
warning,  and  had  stood  watching  him  for  a  moment  at  his 
writing,  as  if  uncertain  whether  to  speak  or  not. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  glancing  up  in  surprise,  the  poised 
pen  between  his  fingers.  "  Thursday,  of  course.  The  day 
of  your  '  Charade.'  I  sha'n't  forget.  If  I  get  back  in  time 
from  a  meeting  I  must  attend  to-night,  I'll  look  in.  I  sup- 
pose it'll  be  very  good,  eh  ?  " 

He  spoke  indifferently.  And  she  answered  him  indiffer- 
ently, or,  at  least,  with  seeming  indifference. 

"  Yes,  the  '  Charade  '  is  to-night.  But  I  wasn't  think- 
ing of  that.  I  know  that  you  don't  care  about  it.  I  was 
thinking  of  the  date,  not  of  the  day." 

Hendrik's  eyes  wandered  carelessly  to  the  calendar  over 
his  writing-table.  "  The  ninth  ?  "  he  said.  "  Somebody's 
birthday,  I  suppose.  I  am  sure  I  congratulate  them.  Is  it 
Ninnie  or  Aurelia  ?  It's  a  good  thing  you  reminded  me. 
Tell  me  who  it  is,  and  I'll  wish  them  many  happy  returns 
of  the  day.  I  suppose  everybody  is  coming  this  evening  ?  " 
He  turned  back  to  the  papers  before  him,  plainly  indicating 
that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  further  disturbed. 

"  It  is  nobody's  birthday,"  persisted  Cornelia.     "  It  is 

the  ninth  of  April.     The  birthday  of  our  contract,  if  you 

like  to  call  it  so.     It  is  exactly  three  years  ago  to-day  since 

that  Sunday  evening  when  we  counted  up  our  '  debtor '  and 

19 


290  GOD'S  FOOL. 

'  creditor '  after — after  Thomas's  visit  to  me,  and  made  our 
compromise  accordingly.  Do  you  remember?  The  com- 
promise was  to  hold  good  for  three  years." 

"  Good  heavens,  Cornelia  !  "  burst  out  Hendrik,  starting 
up  excitedly,  "are  you  coming  to  torment  me  for  more 
money  at  this  moment  of  all  others  ?  Compromise  ?  Com- 
promise? It  seems  to  me  you  have  had  it  all  your  own 
way  from  the  beginning.  Look  at  Margaret  and  Hubert,  if 
you  want  to  appreciate  our  expenditure.  You  have  had 
nearly  a  year  now  to  watch  them  in,  and  to  compare  be- 
tween florins  and  dollars  ! " 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  compare,"  she  interrupted  him,  domi- 
nating his  voice  with  her  own.  "Such  comparisons  are 
useless.  But  neither  have  I  asked  you  for  money,  Hendrik. 
I  would  thank  you  to  wait  till  I  do." 

"  You  are  always  asking  for  money,"  he  said  moodily. 
"  Why  else  remind  me  of  what  you  call  our  compro- 
mise?" 

"  That  is  absolutely  inaccurate,"  replied  Cornelia  coolly, 
pushing  forward  a  large  leather  armchair  and  slowly  filling 
it  with  her  stately  presence.  "  Leave  those  papers  for  a 
moment,  if  you  can  so  far  oblige  me,  Hendrik.  I  want  to 
talk  with  you  about  this.  It  is  seldom  indeed  that  we  talk 
about  any  subjects  but  trifles.  And  I  have  delayed  long 
enough." 

Hendrik  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  "What's  the  good  of 
talking  ?  "  he  said. 

"  It  is  unjust  of  you,  Hendrik,  to  accuse  me  of  always 
asking  foi  money.  Worse  than  that,  it  is  simply  untrue. 
Since  that  final  contest  about  the  carriage,  which  you  wanted, 
most  unfairly,  to  reduce  to  a  private  cab  at  the  liveryman's, 
I  have  kept,  literally,  to  my  part  of  the  contract.  I  have 
never  asked  f oi  anything  but  the  extra  grant  for  my  parties, 
which  you  yourself  had  conceded,  and,  at  this  present  mo- 
ment, I  do  not  owe  anyone  a  halfpenny,  beyond  the  cus- 
tomary outstanding  bills." 


TWO   RIGHTS  AND  NO  WRONG.  291 

"  But  you  are  always  giving  parties,"  interposed  Hen- 
drik. 

"  Could  I  help  it,  if  I  would  ?  One  invitation  necessi- 
tates another.  Society  life  is  like  a  rolling  snow-ball.  You 
have  no  cause  to  complain  of  my  entertainments,  Hendrik. 
Often  enough  you  have  proposed  them." 

"  Proposed  them  !  "  cried  Hendrik  ;  "  I  hate  the  stupid, 
stifling  crushes!  I  keep  away  from  them  as  often  as  I 
can !  " 

"Nevertheless  you  have  proposed  them — indirectly,  by 
saying  that  we  must  call  upon  so-and-so,  or  accept  what's- 
his-name's  invitation  to  dinner.  You  business  men  wrapped 
up  in  your  computations  of  prices  have  no  eye  for  the  intri- 
cate variations  of  the  social  scale.  But,  as  I  say,  Hendrik, 
you  have  no  right  to  be  disagreeable.  I  fancy  you  would 
hardly  have  found  yourself  a  Town-Councillor  to-day,  had 
it  not  been  for  these  very  same  entertainments." 

"  Maybe,  but  you  didn't  do  it  for  that,"  muttered  Hen- 
drik ungraciously. 

"  Once  more  you  are  unjust.  You  have  always  been  un- 
just to  me,  unintentionally,  I  am  willing  to  believe,  but  still 
unjust.  You  persist  in  looking  upon  our  interests  as  an- 
tagonistic. That  is  absurd,  Hendrik.  They  are  identical. 
I  do  not  deny,  for  instance,  that  your  Councillorship  is  an 
advantage  to  us  both." 

"  But  not  your  bonnet,"  he  said. 

"  My  bonnet — I  assure  you  it  is  very  cheap  for  the  Rue 
de  la  Paix — can  only  be  a  means  to  an  end.  But  I  have  my 
Town-Counciilorship  too,  and  I  am  proud  of  it.  Shall  I 
tell  you  what  it  was?  It  was  when  the  Burgomasteress 
came  to  me  last  autumn  and  told  me  that  the  Ladies'  Com- 
mittee for  the  Grand  Bazaar  in  aid  of  the  Society  for  pro- 
viding the  poor  with  gilt-framed  Chromographs  had  offered 
her  the  dignity  of  President,  as  in  duty  bound,  but  that  she 
had  proposed  to  pass  the  offer  on  to  me,  and  that  the  other 
ladies  had  approved.     The  Bazaar  could  only  gain  by  my 


292  GOD'S  FOOL. 

being  at  its  head,  Mevrouw  Cecile  Overdyk  had  said,  the 
Burgomastcress  told  me.  You  remember  ?  Imagine  what 
it  must  have  cost  the  woman  to  come  and  make  me  that 
confession  !  Of  course  she  had  expected  the  others  to  agree 
with  her  in  her  suggestion  that  it  was  best  that  she  should 
be  number  two.  Oh,  of  course  ;  that  was  why  she  made  it !  " 
—a  fierce  light  of  exultation  flashed  into  Cornelia's  eyes. 
"  Many  a  better-born  woman  than  I  would  give  ten  years  of 
her  sweet,  short  life  for  such  a  moment,"  she  said  softly. 
"  It  is  the  only  field  of  ambition  open  to  us,  and  our  ambi- 
tion is  twice  that  of  money-grabbing  man.  Koopstad  ! 
Little  Koopstad?  What  said  Csesar?  'Better  be  first 
in  Koopstad  than  second  in  Paris,'  he  said.  C^sar  was 
right." 

"  I  am  sure  Margaret  does  not  care  for  these  things," 
said  Hendrik. 

"Margaret  has  her  four  children  to  care  for.  "What 
have  I  ?    I  have  no  children." 

She  was  silent.  He,  too,  was  silent.  Everything  in  the 
room  was  silent  for  a  minute  except  the  ticking  clock. 

"  Avow,  Hendrik,"  she  began,  with  a  laugh,  "  that  the  re- 
sult is  not  bad.  I  have  done  what  I  undertook  to  do, 
and  the  price  has  not  been  exorbitant.  Remember,  four 
years  have  not  yet  elapsed  since  you  married  Cornelia 
Alers." 

"  Well,  if  you  have  been  successful  and  feel  happy,  there 
is  no  more  to  be  said,"  replied  Hendrik,  a  little  bitterly. 
He  looked  down  at  his  bureau  and  shuffled  his  hand  among 
the  papers  in  front  of  him.  He  was  anxious  to  get  on  with 
his  work. 

"  I  have  succeeded,"  said  Cornelia,  "  and  I  have  not  suc- 
ceeded. I  have  honestly  done  all  I  could  to  stick  to  the 
contract,  but  things  have  not  come  round  as  I  expected  them 
to.  It  was  expressly  stipulated  that  we  should  be  com- 
fortable, Hendrik,  and  yet  we  have  not  been  comfort- 
able.    We  need  not  talk  about  happiness ;  that  is  a  senti- 


TWO  RIGHTS  AND  NO  WRONG.  293 

mental  word.  I  am  triumphant  to  a  certain  extent.  So 
are  you.  But  we  have  not  been  comfortable.  And  I  can- 
not help  thinking  that  you  are  to  blame." 

"  Oh,  of  course,"  said  Hendrik  savagely,  spluttering 
flourishes  over  his  blotting-pad,  "  I  have  not  given  money 
enough." 

"  Yes,  you  have,  for  you  have  given  all  that  was  bargained 
for,  all  that  I  had  a  right  to  claim.  Strictly  speaking,  there- 
fore, you  have  performed  your  part  as  well  as  I  mine.  But, 
practically,  there  is  a  great  difference,  Hendrik.  Our  whole 
life  is  oppressed  by  your  constant  conviction  that  the  bar- 
gain was  an  unfair  one,  that  you  promised  too  little,  and  I 
too  much." 

"  The  other  way,  you  mean,"  he  interrupted. 

"  I  mean  what  I  say,"  she  objected  sharply.  "  You  too 
little,  and  I  too  much.  You  have  seen  how  I  have  worked 
to  keep  within  the  limits  you  set  me.  I  have  scraped  and 
saved,  and  done  marvels  with  little." 

"  With  little  !  "  he  again  interrupted. 

"  With  comparatively  little.  I  wish  you  would  not  catch 
me  up  like  that.  It  is  as  difficult  to  make  a  banknote  go 
farther  than  its  limited  number  of  florins  as  it  is  to  make  a 
florin  exceed  its  twenty  pence.  You  have  no  right  to  con- 
test my  transparent  good-management,  Hendrik.  A  blind 
man  could  see  it — a  fool,  like  Elias.  There  are  plenty  of 
housewives  in  our  own  set  in  Koopstad  who  have  control 
over  twice  my  resources  and  yet  don't  make  half  my  show." 

"  They  don't  want  to,"  said  Hendrik,  again  thinking  of 
his  brother's  wife. 

"  Ah,  but  they  do.  There  never  was  a  woman  yet — I  am 
not  speaking  of  the  demented — who  did  not  wish  to  buy  a 
florin's  worth  for  '  three-quarters.'  Even  the  most  wasteful 
flatter  themselves  they  '  waste  cheap.'  And  the  most  saintly 
beat  down  the  price  of  the  missionary  flannel.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  your  impeccable  Margaret  believes  she  gets  her 
oranges  cheaper  than  I  do  mine." 


294  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  I  wish  you  would  leave  me  to  my  occupations,  Cornelia. 
They  are  very  pressing." 

"But  she  is  mistaken." 

"  Surely  you  must  have  plenty  of  your  own  also,  on  such 
a  day  as  this." 

"  Indeed  I  have.  On  such  a  day  as  this,  as  you  remind 
me.  On  the  ninth  of  April,  18 — .  It  is  as  I  said,  Hendrik. 
I  struggle — hard — to  do  my  best,  and  you  see  it,  day  after 
day.  And  yoii  know  that  the  struggle  is  unnecessary. 
That  it  would  cease,  if  you  gave  me  my  due.  You  betray 
yourself  by  occasionally  advancing  me  money  before  I  have 
asked  for  it.     That  is  the  silent  confession  of  your  shame." 

"  Out  of  pure  friendliness  I  may  sometimes  have  done 
so,"  cried  Hendrik,  "or  perhaps,  still  oftener,  to  disarm 
your  tacit  attitude  of  protest."  He  began  to  realize  how 
true  is  that  axiom  he  had  always  cherished,  that  you  can  get 
a  woman  to  do  anything  if  only  you  are  kind  to  her ! 

"  It  is  your  conscience,  Hendrik,"  persisted  Cornelia, 
looking  full  at  her  husband.  She  was  speaking  in  perfect 
good  faith.  "  Do  you  know,  I  have  often  thought  of  late 
that  our  married  life  would  have  been  happier,  if  you  had 
been  less  conscientious  than  you  are.  Now,  Thomas,  I 
fancy,  would  not  have  been  tormented  by  your  scruples. 
But  those  very  scruples  are  decidedly  uncomfortable.  You 
live  in  a  constant  dread  of  my  asking  you  for  more  money, 
though  I  do  not  do  it.  Why?  Because  your  conscience 
tells  you  I  should  have  a  right  so  to  ask." 

"  Why  ?  "  echoed  Hendrik.  "  Because  constantly,  in  a 
thousand  little  indirect  hints  and  allusions,  you  give  me  to 
understand  that  I  am  rendering  your  life  a  burden  to  you." 

"  Ah,  that  is  your  conscience,  Hendrik,"  said  Cornelia, 
impressively. 

"  While  in  reality  I  am  straining  every  nerve  to  satisfy 
all  demands  upon  my  purse." 

"  Your  own  demand  first,"  cried  Cornelia. 

He  did  not  answer.     He  felt  it  would  be  hopeless  to  say 


TWO  RIGHTS  AND  NO  WRONG.  295 

no.  As  for  his  demand,  he  still  smoked  his  cheap  cigars, 
and  kept  a  few  better  ones  for  his  wife's  frequent  guests. 
But  Cornelia  was  not  thinking  of  his  personal  requirements, 
as  he  knew.     She  was  thinking  of  "  Volderdoes  Zonen." 

"  And  so  we  are  uncomfortable,"  Merrouw  Lossell  went 
on.  "We  are  uncomfortable  because  we  both  have  con- 
sciences. Having  consciences,  we  realize  that  I  do  my  duty 
and  that  you  only  partially  do  yours.  In  so  far  as  we  are 
uncomfortable,  we  have  failed.  For  our  whole  object,  as 
you  will  remember,  was  to  be  as  unromantically  comfortable 
aa  possible." 

"  What,  for  mercy's  sake,  are  you  driving  at  ?  "  gasped 
Hendrik  in  despair. 

"  You  must  understand,  Henk.  I  want  you  to  treat  me 
fairly,  without  any  further  promptings  on  my  part.  The 
period  for  which  I  bound  myself  is  over,  but  I  do  not  want 
to  appeal  directly  to  that  argument.  Treat  me  fairly.  Only 
treat  me  fairly.  There  is  surely  no  reason  for  this  con- 
tinued standing  aloof,  half  in  enmity,  half  in  distrust.  We 
have  had  enough  of  it.  Set  your  own  conscience  at  rest, 
and  give  me  my  due." 

"  You  want  more  money,"  said  Heniirik  doggedly. 
"  How  much  is  your  due  ?  " 

"  My  clue,"  cried  Cornelia,  with  blazing  eyes,  "  is  to  be 
treated  honourably  as  your  wife,  and  not,  year  after  year,  as 
your  housekeeper  or  your  landlady.  It  is  a  pity  we  cannot 
understand  each  other  without  such  very  plain  speaking, 
for  the  people  who  require  that  in  their  intercourse  with 
each  other  have  but  a  poor  chance  of  sympathizing  at  all. 
I  am  not  your  servant,  Hendrik,  to  be  content  with  my 
monthly  pittance,  and  I  refuse  to  have  my  wages  raised.  I 
have  not  come  to  ask  for  '  more  money,'  as  you  put  it.  I 
believe  I  represent  nothing  else  to  you  than  an  employee 
incessantly  clamouring  for  a  rise  of  ninepence  a  week.  And 
you  consider  you  can  ignore  my  clamouring,  because  you 
remember  I  cannot '  go  on  strike. 


»  55 


296  GOD'S  FOOL. 

She  rose  up  out  of  her  lazy  attitude  in  genuine  indigna- 
tion, and  stood  towering  over  the  writing-table,  and  the 
round  chair  behind  it,  and  little  Hendrik  Lossell,  seated 
low. 

"  We  go  halves,  as  it  is,"  he  barked  back  at  her,  some- 
what frightened.  "  I  earn  the  money  and  you  spend  it ; 
does  that  not  suffice  ?  " 

"  How  unjust  you  are,  Hendrik !  As  if  I  did  not  do 
some  of  the  earning,  and  you  most  of  the  spending — or  lay- 
ing aside,  if  you  prefer  the  term.  It  comes  to  the  same 
thing  for  me.  But  do  not  let  us  squabble.  I  beg  of  you, 
do  not  let  us  do  that.  Once  more  I  ask  you :  Only  treat 
me  fairly.  You  cannot,  in  your  own  heart,  think  it  fair 
that  you  should  be  making,  say,  fifty  thousand  florins  a 
year,  and  that  I  should  continue  struggling  to  keep  up  our 
establishment  on  twenty.  You  do  not  think  it  fair,  and 
there  lies  the  origin  of  all  our  trouble." 

"  Fifty  thousand  a  year  !  "  cried  Henkie. 

"Never  mind  the  exact  sum.  The  principle  remains 
the  same.  True,  Thomas  tells  me  that  you  have  been  ex- 
ceedingly fortunate  of  late,  and  that  you " 

"  Thomas  !  "  almost  screamed  Lossell.  "  I  might  have 
known  he  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  mischief.  He  is  the 
very  best  man,  undoubtedly,  to  twit  me  with  my  good  fort- 
une.    I  suppose  he  told  you  that  I  owed  it  to  him." 

"  No,"  replied  Cornelia,  "  nor  did  I  inquire.  I  want  no 
particulars  from  him.  But  from  you  I  should  like  to  re- 
ceive them.  Come,  Hendrik.  Trust  me.  If  I  bear  all  the 
worry,  I  should  at  least  be  told  how  or  why.  I  can  under- 
stand that  you  speculate,  and  that  for  this  you  require  con- 
siderable sums  ready  to  hand.  It  is  the  wisest  thing  you  can 
do,  I  suppose,  if  you  are  to  remain  bent  upon  buying  up 
the  business.  But  let  me  know  about  it.  Enable  me  to 
take  an  interest  in  your  plans.  Only  like  that,  as  you  can 
comprehend,  will  you  make  my  position  endurable.  Let  me 
understand  what  I  am  waiting  and  working  for.     Perhaps 


TWO  RIGHTS  AND  NO  WRONG.  29Y 

then  I  sball  be  more  willing  to  bear  this  daily  drudgery. 
Nay,  I  am  confident  I  shall  be  more  willing.  We  should 
work  together,  as  far  as  possible.  We  only  provoke  un- 
necessary annoyance  by  keeping  our  interests  apart." 

Hendrik  did  not  answer.  He  only  drew  his  papers 
towards  him,  and  began  anew  to  study  their  contents. 

"  You  will  not  take  me  into  your  confidence  ? "  per- 
sisted Cornelia,  with  a  slight  tremble  in  her  voice. 

"  Of  course  not,"  he  retorted  peevishly.  "  These  are  no 
matters  for  women.     Go  and  dress  for  your  charade." 

She  mastered  herself  for  one  question  more.  "  At  least 
tell  me  this,"  she  said.  "  If  you  succeed  in  buying  out 
Elias,  as  you  wish  to,  will  your  hoarding  then  definitely 
come  to  an  end  ?  " 

"  There  would  not  be  the  same  reason  for  economy,"  he 
answered  evasively. 

"  Then,  on  your  own  behalf,  as  well  as  on  mine,  make 
haste.  Thomas  tells  me  he  is  going  to  submit  a  new  plan 
to  you  which  will  make  you  enormously  rich  in  a  couple  of 
months.  I  do  not  ask  what  it  is.  You  would  not  tell  me 
if  you  knew.  I  only  advise  you  to  follow  his  advice.  For 
listen  to  me,  Hendrik.  I  have  spoken  to  you  once  more 
to-day  about  this  subject.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
speak  to  you.  It  is  the  last  time.  I  am  not  the  kind  of 
woman  to  break  my  word,  as  I  have  shown  you  through 
these  last  three  years.  You  have  repelled  all  my  offers. 
You  refuse  me  both  confidence  without  contentment  and 
contentment  without  confidence.  So  be  it.  The  subject 
need  never  be  mentioned  between  us  again.  I  leave  you  six 
months  longer  to  make  your  fortune  and  free  us  both  from 
this  dragging  chain.  Six  months  to  work  out  your  plans, 
whatever  they  may  be.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  I  am  sick 
of  the  v/hole  thing.  I  shall  trouble  you  no  more  about  it. 
But  at  the  end  of  six  months  I  spend — I  am  released  from 
the  promise  I  once  gave  too  easily — I  spend  your  income  of 
fifty  thousand  fiorins  a  year." 


298  GOD'S   FOOL. 

"  And  liow  will  you  do  that?  "  he  queried  sceptically. 

"  I  ?  I  shall  refurnish  the  whole  house  over  again,  to 
begin  with.  AVhat !  You  doubt  my  capabilities  ?  I  could 
spend  five  hundred  thousand  on  the  furniture  alone  !  And 
you  doubt  my  seriousness?  I  have  utterly  spoilt  you,  Los- 
sell,  by  my  forbearance.  You  shall  see  of  what  metal  I  am 
made." 

She  turned  from  him  with  a  look  of  scorn,  and  walked 
towards  the  door. 

"  Margaret  manages  her  house  on  half  what  you  spend 
"  began  Hendrik  in  indignant  alarm. 


She  paused  in  the  doorway  and  fixed  her  quiet  eyes  upon 
him. 

"  Margaret ! "  she  said.  "  Leave  me  in  peace  with  your 
Margaret.  She  has  other  compensations.  And  she  has  not 
the  misfortune  to  be  married  to  you." 

With  those  words  she  went  from  him.  They  were  the 
unkindest  she  had  ever  spoken  to  him  in  their  "  uncomfort- 
able "  wedded  life. 

Hendrik  remained  alone  with  his  thoughts.  They  were 
not  pleasant  thoughts.  He  knew  his  wife  enough  to  be- 
lieve she  would  do  as  she  said.  Once  released  from  the 
galling  curb  which  had  till  now  restrained  her  on  the  road 
of  her  desires,  she  would  rejoice  in  the  recovery  of  her  free- 
dom. And  the  worst  of  it  was  that,  however  wrong  he 
might  think  her,  her  argument  always  put  her  in  the 
right. 

"  It  is  impossible,"  he  said,  "  to  argue  with  a  woman. 
She  never  strikes  straight ;  she  only  fences.  I  don't  even 
attempt  to  oppose  Cornelia  directly.     I  can't." 

When  she  said  that  his  conscience  reproached  him  for 
not  treating  her  fairly,  she  was  right  to  a  certain  extent. 
He  could  appreciate  her  claims  as  well  as  his  own  especial 
reasons  for  refusing  to  admit  them. 

"  The  position  is  a  miserable  one,"  he  said  aloud,  kick- 


TWO   RIGHTS  AND  NO  WRONG.  299 

ing  out  liis  foot  as  he  sat  by  the  writing-table,  "  but  it  is  un- 
avoidable. Escape  there  is  none,  look  whatever  way  you 
can." 

And  then  he  smiled  a  bitter  smile  at  the  thought  of 
Alers  talking  about  his  good  fortune.  "  It  was  he  with  his 
wretched  syndicate,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  that  first 
started  my  ruin." 


CHAPTER    XXXVIL 

A    STEANGE    DUCK   IN"   THE    POND. 

Yes,  Hubert  and  Margaret  had  returned  home  from 
Shanghai.  They  had  now  been  in  Koopstad  nearly  nine 
months.  And  they  would  have  come  back  three  years 
earlier,  as  Hubert  had  at  first  intended,  but  that  Hendrik 
had  proved  to  his  brother  how  desirable  it  was  that  the  firm 
should  continue  to-be  represented  in  China,  for  at  least  a 
little  bit  longer,  by  one  of  its  responsible  chiefs.  Hubert 
did  not  absolutely  agree  with  this  view.  There  were  several 
men  in  the  office,  he  said,  who  could  do  the  work  quite  as 
well,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  as  himself.  But  he  consented  to 
postpone  his  departure  for  a  couple  of  years. 

Then  he  wrote — as  we  have  seen — to  say  that  he  was 
really  coming  home  this  time.  He  wrote  to  Elias  and  to 
Hendrik  simultaneously.  In  his  letter  to  Hendrik  he  added 
that  his  wife  and  children  would  be  better  off  in  every  way 
in  Europe ;  the  eldest  boy  was  now  nearly  five  years  old,  the 
youngest  barely  fifteen  months,  and  the  two  little  interven- 
ing girls  were  delicate.  Another  man  must  be  sent  out  to 
take  his  place. 

But  neither  to  Hendrik  nor  to  Elias  did  Hubert  state 
the  exact  circumstance  which  had  ultimately  decided  his 
return.  And  yet  it  was  very  simple — absurdly  simple — only 
it  was  one  of  those  simplicities  which  we  do  not  communi- 
cate to  our  fellow-men.  Elias  would  have  been  perplexed, 
and  Hendrik  sarcastic. 

Hubert  Lossell  was  the  most  superstitious  of  unbelieving 


A  STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.  30I 

men.  He  was  perfectly  reasonable  about  all  matters  excejjt 
his  own  private  little  unreasonableness.  He  understood 
clearly  that  sensible  Europeans  nowadays  reject  the  super- 
natural as  unproven,  and  he  felt  the  utmost  contempt  for  all 
the  follies  of  the  Romish  Church  at  home  or  the  fancies  of 
the  heathen  Chinee  in  the  land  of  ten  thousand  devils.  It 
was  impossible,  as  he  understood,  and  all  Koopstad  with 
him,  to  believe  in  anything  at  all. 

Nevertheless,  had  he  found  it  rational  to  admit  the  ex- 
istence of  anything  unscientific  anywhere,  he  would  have 
discovered  to  his  own  surprise  that,  while  miracles  by  saints 
were  ridiculously  out  of  the  question,  he  was  not  quite  so 
confident  about  miracles  by  sinners.  In  one  word,  had  he 
ever  found  himself  impelled  by  circumstances  to  consult  the 
Oracle — not  that  he  had  stooped  so  low  as  yet — it  would  not 
have  been  to  Saint  Stigmatica  that  he  would  have  addressed 
himself,  but  to  a  gipsy  with  a  pack  of  cards. 

Do  not  laugh  at  him.  Remember,  among  a  crowd  of  the 
world's  greatest  (that  is,  its  worst),  the  great  Napoleon. 

Hubert  Lossell  was  not  a  great  man.  He  had  not  vices 
enough.  That  is  to  say,  he  had  none  of  those  magnified 
vices  which  we  call  virtues  in  the  great. 

He  was  weak-willed,  with  strong  affections  and  strong 
passions.  He  had  married  for  love,  and,  after  nearly 
half  a  dozen  years  of  wedded  life,  he  did  not  regret  having 
done  so.  He  believed  that  he  had  fulfilled  his  destiny  in 
taking  this  English  wife,  as  also  in  going  out  to  China,  as, 
in  fact,  in  most  of  the  acts  of  his  life.  He  believed  in  des- 
tiny.    It  was  one  of  the  few  things  he  believed  in. 

Yes,  he  was  superstitious,  witli  the  nineteenth  century 
superstition  of  scepticism.  "  A  man  does  not  will,  but  is 
willed,"  he  used  to  say.  "  He  may  rash  to  his  goal  like  a 
railway  engine,  but  'tis  fate  holds  its  hand  on  the  screws." 
He  did  not  say  "  her,"  you  perceive.  He  said  "  its."  He 
was  twentieth-century. 

And,  therefore,  when  he  had  dreamed  three  times  in  the 


302  GOD'S  FOOL. 

course  of  a  fortnight  that  lie  lieard  a  voice  saying  to  him : 
"  Wlio  broke  the  China  bowl  ?  "  he  understood  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  take  his  children  back  to  Holland  at  once,  unless  he 
wished  to  be  held  responsible  for  their  death.  It  was  an 
advantage,  undoubtedly,  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
return  in  any  case. 

So  Margaret  came  and  dwelt  in  Koopstad,  with  her 
Dutch  husband  and  her  four  feeble  olive-branches.  But 
these  latter  were  not  accepted  by  the  family,  to  whom  she 
presented  them  as  tokens  of  peace. 

On  the  contrary,  Cornelia  was  envious,  and  Hendrik 
considered  that,  i]i  any  case,  it  might  be  called  supereroga- 
tory in  her  to  be  expecting  a  fifth.  As  she  was.  "  When  a 
tree  has  so  many  branches,"  thought  Hendrik,  "  they  are 
apt  to  be  covered  with  nothing  but  leaves.'* 

And  "  the  family  " — the  outer  circle  of  Lossells  and 
Overdyks  and  van  Bussens — if  the  family,  as  a  unit,  had 
disapproved  of  Cornelia  Alers,  what  must  they  make  of 
this  nobody  from  nowhere?  Her  only  possible  exculpa- 
tion would  have  been  an  "  English  "  fortune.  "  It  is  very 
difficult  for  you,  my  dear  cousin,"  said  the  sugar-planting 
van  Bussen  to  Cornelia,  "  to  have  a  foreign  element  thus  in- 
truded into  the  family.  Mevrouw  Margaret  is  undoubtedly 
excellent,  but  of  course  she  is  not  one  of  us,  like  you." 
But  Cornelia  "  did  not  understand  it  in  that  manner." 
"  My  sister-in-law  is  charming,"  she  said. 

She  ivas  charming — to  those  who  are  still  charmed  by 
simple  goodness,  accompanied  by  perennial  babies.  She  had 
a  quiet,  kind  little  face  and  an  unobtrusively  friendly  manner, 
and  her  gray  eyes  seemed  born  into  the  world  on  purpose  to 
smile  to  a  child  and  stop  its  crying.  There  are  many 
such  faces  yet  in  this  wicked  old  world.  Alas  that  there 
should  be  far  more  tears  ! 

Home  was  for  Margaret  both  the  centre  and  the  circum- 
ference of  a  woman's  circle.     The  opinions  of  female  Koop- 


A  STRANGE   DUCK  IN  THE  POND.  303 

stad,  therefore,  could  leave  her  frankly  indifferent.  If  there 
was  anything  that  caused  her  annoyance,  it  was  the  effusi\e- 
ness  of  one  or  two  young  ladies  who  were  suffering  from 
acute  Anglo-mania,  a  disease  to  which  Dutch  girldom  is 
subject,  and  which  chiefly  manifests  itself  in  the  wearing  of 
moderately  "  loud "  clothing,  and  the  refusal  to  speak  or 
write  anything  "  among  ourselves  "  but  an  English  which, 
although  very  good  as  a  rule,  yet  invariably  falls  far  short  of 
that  absolute  perfection  Avhich  alone  would  make  the  affec- 
tation excusable.  These  young  ladies  Mevrouw  Margaret 
found  somewhat  trying.  They  persisted  in  Avanting  to  lend 
her  books  of  Miss  Braddon's.  She  did  not  wish  for  Miss 
Braddon.     Her  favourite  authoress  was  Miss  Youge. 

Nor  did  she  wish  to  speak  English  more  than  necessary, 
for  she  was  eagerly  continuing  heroic  efforts,  already  begun 
in  China,  to  acquire  a  certain  amount  of  Dutch.  The  result 
up  till  now  had  been  chiefly  sore  throat.  She  was  not  a 
linguist;  and  the  guttural  accents  of  the  Netherlands, 
though  not  irretrievably  harsh  of  themselves,  become  truly 
awful  in  the  struggles  of  a  foreigner. 

"  The  children  must  know  both  languages,"  she  said, 
"  and  their  mother  must  not  know  less  than  the  children." 
"  The  children  will  have  to  speak  French  also,"  replied  Hu- 
bert, his  hands  in  his  pockets,  his  face  to  the  window.  He 
did  not  like  saying  disagreeable  things  to  his  wife. 

Margaret  sighed.  She  felt  that  life  was  hopelessly  com- 
plicated in  Koopstad.  But  the  baby — the  last, — I  mean  the 
latest — cried  out  from  its  cradle,  and  the  present  once  more 
became  plain  to  her. 

The  chief  object  of  interest  to  her  in  Koopstad  had 
been  from  the  first  her  husband's  step-brother,  Elias.  He 
had  been  almost  the  only  one  when  she  arrived  there.  "  But 
all  the  odd  little  houses,  and  the  trim  canals,  and  the  funnily 
dressed  people?  "  Hubert  had  said.  "  Don't  they  strike  you 
as  very  peculiar,  Meg  ?  "     Truth  to  tell,  they  did  not.     She 


304  GOD'S   FOOL. 

had  seen  far  more  fuuuily  dressed  people  in  China,  and  also 
odder  houses,  and  equally  trim  canals. 

Out  there,  on  the  hill,  in  the  heavy  sweetness  of  their 
wide  veranda  at  nightfall,  when  thoughts  of  home  came 
creeping  up  along  the  silver  shadows,  Hubert  had  often 
spoken  of  the  strangely  afflicted  head  of  the  house.  He 
had  told  her  simply — long  ago — how  it  was  he,  he  alone, 
who  in  his  childish  fatuity  had  brought  this  hopeless  ruin 
upon  his  brother.  He  reproached  himself,  but  endurably. 
"  In  such  a  position,"  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  there  is  no  other 
alternative  than  that  between  resignation  and  despair." 
And  in  fact  it  was  this  very  consciousness  of  an  all-pervad- 
ing horror  from  Avhich  he  must  escape,  that  had  driven  him, 
as  soon  as  he  could  reason  with  himself,  into  the  refuge  of 
his  doctrine  of  Destiny.  "  We  do  not  will,  but  are  willed." 
"  Whether  we  ride  fast  or  slow,  'tis  fate  that  holds  the 
reins."  Least  of  all  could  baby  Hubbie  help  it  that  the 
fiower-pot  came  crashing  down  on  the  hope  of  the  house  of 
Volderdoes. 

That  was  evident.  And  yet — and  yet — Hubert  was 
especially  tender  to  Elias.  He  had  been  more  than  neces- 
sarily chivalrous  in  the  vindication  of  his  rights.  He 
felt  that  he  had  at  least  owed  this  to  his  brother,  to  shield 
him  against  all  further  injury,  from  whomsoever  it  might 
come. 

He  had  never  forgotten  that,  in  the  moment  of  the  sud- 
den push,  he  had  wanted  the  flower-pot  to  hit  Elias.  That 
impulse  of  mischievous  wantonness  stood  graven  on  his 
memory,  immovable  through  the  years.  Theories  and  beliefs 
might  grow  and  expand  and  fade  away  around  it.  It  stood 
there,  denied,  refuted,  angrily  rejected,  calmly  disproved. 
There  it  stood,  and  there  it  would  remain,  like  an  arrow  that 
pinned  all  the  memories  of  Elias  in  a  bundle  to  his  heart. 
"  We  do  not  will ;  we  are  willed,"  said  Hubert  Lossell. 
But  he  said  it  vehemently. 

"  Tell  me  of  your  poor  brother,"  Margaret  would  suggest 


A  STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.  305 

gently.  Her  heart  warmed  towards  this  strange,  desolate 
man  of  more  than  thirty  winters,  who,  in  reality,  was  still 
only  an  orphan  child.  "  Little  Elias,"  she  had  said  in- 
voluntarily, until  she  saw  the  portrait  which  Johanna  had 
caused  to  be  made  and  sent  out  at  Hubert's  request.  Then 
she  said  "  Little  Elias "  no  longer.  The  large  platino- 
gravure,  with  its  soft  gray  shading,  hung  in  a  place  of 
honour  in  their  Chinese  drawing-room.  The  children  knew 
it  well — their  sad-looking  uncle  with  the  great  eyes,  and  the 
long  hair  like  a  girl's.  They  called  him  "  Uncle  Beauty," 
and,  more  from  contrast  than  from  any  especial  appro- 
priateness, they  nicknamed  the  other  portrait  "  Uncle 
Ugly."  They  stuck  to  the  original  appellation  even  after 
their  mother  had  forbidden  them  to  use  its  more  recent  un- 
complimentary complement. 

"  Tell  me  about  poor  Elias."  Margaret  had  perceived 
that  Hubert  liked  to  talk  about  this  brother  of  whom  he 
was  ceaselessly  thinking,  even  while  he  shrank  from  starting 
the  subject.  "  Our  thoughts  are  constantly  with  you,  as 
Margaret  says,"  wrote  Hubert.  It  was  true.  We  are  all  in- 
terested in  what  concerns  us ;  and  Elias's  affliction  was  in- 
tricately interwoven  with  the  spiritual  life  of  the  man  who 
had  caused  it.  Elias  was  delighted  with  Margaret's  message 
of  sympathy. 

Naturally  it  was  this  mysterious  brother-in-law  who  most 
attracted  her  in  the  unattractive  world  of  Koopstad.  "  I 
love  him  already,"  she  had  frequently  affirmed  to  her  hus- 
band on  the  homeward  journey.  But  she  had  not  suffi- 
ciently realized  the  thickness  of  the  barrier  between  them. 
She  had  known,  of  course,  for  years  of  its  existence.  She 
had  never  comprehended  what  it  meant  till  she  stood,  help- 
less, face  to  face  with  that  beautiful  living  statue — the  use- 
less tears  welling  up  in  her  motlierly  eyes. 

"  Is  it  possible,  Hubert,"  she  whispered,  "  that  he  can- 
not see  ?  " 

Her  husband  pressed  her  closer  to  his  bosom,  and  shook 
20 


306  GOD'S  FOOL. 

his  head.  Elias's  eyes,  alive  with  their  own  unmeaning  sad- 
ness, stared  vaguely  in  front  of  him,  not  at  the  couple 
standing  silent,  slightly  on  one  side.  The  young  wife  under- 
stood that  he  was  blind. 

"  Will  you  take  my  hand,  please,"  said  Elias,  "  Mother 
Margaretha  *? " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  am  progressing  wonderfully  with  my  Dutch," 
Margaret  declared  brightly  to  her  husband's  twin-brother, 
who  had  come  upstairs,  after  a  satisfactory  committee-meet- 
ing, on  the  night  of  the  charade,  to  speak  to  as  many  of  Cor- 
nelia's guests  as  he  possibly  could  in  as  short  a  period  of 
time  as  he  dared  to  bestow  on  them.  "  I  am  really,  Hen- 
drik.  You  mustn't  laugh  at  me,  or  I  shall  avenge  myself 
by  treating  you  to  some  of  it.  I  fear  you  have  a  very  poor 
opinion  of  my  powers.  Do  you  know,  it  will  be  nine 
months  next  week  since  we  arrived.  Isn't  nine  months 
long  enough  to  learn  a  language  in  ?  Not  even  counting 
all  that  I  knew  when  I  came." 

"  I  am  not  laughing,  I  assure  you,"  replied  Hendrik. 
"  I  remember  perfectly  well  that  you  talked  Dutch  on  your 
arrival.  Did  you  not  say  '  Asjeblief,  Meneer,'  to  the  porter 
who  asked  you  how  many  boxes  you  had  ?  " 

"You  are  unkind,"  replied  Margaret  gaily,  "and,  oh 
dear !  so  unjust.  I  do  all  the  housekeeping  in  Dutch  now- 
adays, for  my  English  cook  left  me  last  month.  Hubert 
thinks  it  best  we  should  have  Dutch  servants  in  Holland, 
and  I  suppose  he  is  right.  I  have  only  Nurse  with  me 
now." 

"And  do  you  like  our  Dutch  food?"  queried  Hendrik 
indifferently,  looking  round  for  the  next  person  to  whom 
he  must  say,  "  How  do  you  do  ? "  "  They  act  very  well, 
don't  they?" 

"  No,"  she  replied  frankly.  "  In  fact,  it  is  too  good  for 
me.  We  are  accustomed  to  plain  cooking  at  home,  you 
know." 


A  STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.       307 

"  Really  ?  "  lie  said,  gazing  away  in  the  direction  of  Tante 
Theresa's  crimson  cap.  "  Oh  yes,  of  course,  I  remember. 
Ah,  there  is  Tante  Overdyk.  I  must  go  and  speak  to  her. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  from  Cornelia  that  you  continue  to  like 
your  new  house." 

"  Oh  yes,  we  like  it,"  she  answered,  drawing  back  her 
dress  to  let  him  pass.  "  Of  course  it  is  not  nearly  as  grand 
as  this,  but  there  is  room  enough,  and  a  large  garden  for 
the  children." 

He  smiled  vaguely,  and  passed  on.  The  words  were  not 
altogether  agreeable  to  him;  they  were  too  much  like  an 
echo  of  his  own  reproachful  thoughts.  He  liked  his  Eng- 
lish sister-in-law,  or  rather  he  "  appreciated  "  her,  as  they 
say  in  Dutch,  for  possessing  the  very  qualities  which  he  had 
vainly  longed  for  in  his  own  wife.  And  she  ?  She  did  not 
feel  any  especial  softness  for  the  "  clever "  pair.  It  was 
Hubert  who  always  spoke  of  the  "  clever  "  brother.  Such 
an  excellent  man  of  business,  so  wide-awake  and  energetic, 
far  "  cleverer  "  than  he. 

That  Cornelia  was  also  "  clever  "  she  could  easily  j^er- 
ceive.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  these  two  ladies 
would  feel  much  sympathy  for  each  other.  They  "my- 
deared  "  each  other. 

Margaret  was  not  clever.  She  was  good.  But  she  was 
a  woman.  "  Of  course  it  is  not  nearly  as  grand  as  this," 
she  said. 

Xo,  she  did  not  love  Cornelia. 

Cornelia  sat  on  a  brilliantly  lighted  "  causeuse "  up 
against  a  mass  of  variously  tinted  azaleas  (borrowed  for  the 
occasion,  as  was  often  the  case,  from  Elias's  beautiful  con- 
servatories). On  her  right  sat  Tante  Theresa,  on  her  left 
Cousin  Cocoa.  In  front  of  them  stood  Isidor,  with  Tante 
Theresa's  empty  glass  in  her  hand.  Refreshments  were  be- 
ing handed  round  in  the  pause  between  the  third  syllable 
and  the  last. 


308  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Cornelia  bad  on  a  beautiful  dress.  It  is  impossible  to 
remember,  at  this  distance  of  time,  what  it  was  like,  but  I 
know  it  must  have  been  exceptionally  beautiful,  because  I 
heard  some  of  her  fair  friends  admit  as  much  on  the  even- 
ing itself.  Probably,  if  they  saw  it  to-day,  they  would  de- 
scribe it  as  "  frightful,"  but,  then,  you  know,  dear  Amanda, 
you  say  that  of  last  year's  dresses,  merely  because  sleeves 
were  still  worn  low  last  year. 

"  It  isn't  true,"  says  Amanda,  with  a  pout.  Oh, 
Amanda,  Amanda,  it  is.  Your  taste  is  entirely  vitiated,  my 
dear,  because  you  have  no  comprehension  of  the  beautiful 
out-of-date. 

The  couch  over  which  Cornelia  spread  as  much  of  the 
new  dress  as  she  conveniently  could  without  unduly  sup- 
pressing her  neighbours  was  not  a  low  one,  for  Hendrik's 
wife  was  too  careful  a  student  of  herself  to  do  aught  that 
disagreed  with  her,  internally  or  externally,  and  she  knew 
that  when  you  have  a  long  bust  and  strongly-accentuated 
features,  and  are  generally  of  marked,  masculine  and,  as 
you  call  it,  "  majestic  "  presence,  you  must  sit  up  in  society 
on  as  high  a  throne  as  you  can  get  and  pose,  without  any 
attempts  to  undulate.  Undulation,  by-the-bye,  is  never  to 
be  got  by  effort. 

"  There  is  John  James,"  she  was  saying  to  Isidor,  "  and 
Winifred  Suzan,  and  Judith,  and  Hubert,  and  the  next,  if 
it  be  a  boy,  is  to  be  called  Elias,  I  am  told.  But  I  don't 
see  the  use  of  my  answering  you,  Isidor,  for  you  asked  me 
the  same  question  a  couple  of  months  ago,  and  of  course 
you  don't  care  in  the  slightest  to  know." 

"  Oh  but  I  do,"  protested  Isidor.  "  I  assure  you  I  think 
your  sister-in-law  delightful.  I  should  be  great  friends 
with  her  if  her  French  were  a  little  better  than  my  Eng- 
lish." 

"  I  have  always  considered,"  interrupted  Tante  Theresa 
incisively,  "  that  the  names  of  the  two  elder  children  were 
absurd.     Especially  that  of  the  girl.     If  they  are  to  live  in 


A  STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.      309 

Holland,  why  saddle  them  with  appellations  which  nobody 
can  pronounce  ?  '  Winifred  ' ;  it  may  be  very  pretty,  but 
what  does  it  mean  to  us  Europeans  ?  As  well  call  the  poor 
little  creature  Chintsjinjunga.  '  Winnie,'  they  say,  it  ap- 
pears.    That  reminds  one  of  a  horse." 

"  Oh,  it  is  the  grandmother's  name,  you  know,"  an- 
swered Cornelia,  playing  with  the  diamond  bracelet  on  her 
substantial  arm. 

"  I  know  very  well,  but  that  is  not  the  slightest  excuse. 
Her  grandmother  lived  in  a  country  where  people  imagined 
it  a  reasonable  thing  to  be  called  Winifred.  Margaretha 
should  have  stayed  there,  if  she  wanted  to  give  her  children 
English  names.     Hubert  is  culpably  weak." 

"  Family  names  are  almost  always  more  honoured  in  the 
breach  than  in  the  observance,"  remarked  Isidor  confusedly, 
depositing  the  empty  glass  which  had  been  embarrassing 
him  on  a  passing  footman's  tray.  "  Can  I  get  you  any- 
thing, Cousin  Amelia  ?  That  man  has  Neapolitan  ices. 
Cornelia,  undeniably,  you  do  these  things  first-rate." 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  Mevrouw  van  Bussen,  "  I  am  too 

old  for  ices,  but  if  you  could  procure  me  a  cup  of  coffee 

I  cannot  understand,  Cornelia,  why  the  next  child  should 
be  called  Elias.  Surely  Hubert's  own  brother  would  have 
the  prior  right." 

"  Oh,  Elias  is  everything  now,"  replied  Cornelia  spite- 
fully. "  Poor  Elias  !  Dear  Elias  !  They  are  intensely  fond 
of  Elias.  And  I  dare  say  my  sister-in-law  considers  he  is 
quite  rich  enough  to  afford  himself  a  god-child — or  two,  for 
that  matter.  Elijah  and  Elisha,  like  Henk  and  Huib.  We 
must  wait  till  next  time ;  I  dare  say  we  shall  come  round 
in  a  year  or  two.  There  will  soon  not  be  relatives  enough, 
and  they  will  have  to  begin  on  the  twelve  patriarchs  or  the 
thirteen  apostles." 

"  There  were  twelve  ajiostles,  Cornelia,"  corrected  Tante 
Theresa  reprovingly, 

"  I  included  Judas,"  retorted  Cornelia,  "  as  well  as  St. 


310  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Paul.  I  dare  say  Margaret  will  have  to  make  up  her  mind 
to  at  least  one  fox  in  so  numcrov;s  a  flock  of  geese." 

No,  decidedly,  Cornelia  did  not  love  her  sister-in-law. 

In  the  meantime  Isidor  had  returned  with  the  coffee. 
"  I  cannot  agree  with  you,  Isidor,  about  family  names,"  said 
Tante  Theresa,  who  had  been  inwardly  chafing  during  his 
absence.  "  But,  then,  I  can  so  seldom  agree  with  you.  I 
believe  that  you  purposely  annoy  me  by  always  saying  things 
in  my  presence  which  you  know  to  be  improper." 

"  I  speak  feelingly  on  the  subject,"  replied  Isidor  meekly. 
"  Had  my  mother  thought  as  you  do,  I  should  have  rejoiced 
in  the  name  of  '  Jeremiah.' " 

"  It  would  have  been  quite  as  good  as  Isidor,  and  the 
unbroken  continuity  of  two  centuries  and  a  half  would  not 
have  been  ruined  by  a  whim.  Are  you  so  much  better  off 
with  '  Isidor '  ?  " 

"  Isidor  is  bad  enough,"  he  said  with  a  shrug  of  his  list- 
less, gentlemanly  shoulders.  "  It  might  do  duty  as  the 
French  for  Jeremiah  if  you  like,  similarly  to  Jesaias  and 
Isaie.  In  my  opinion,  calling  names  ought  to  be  forbidden 
to  parents  as  well  as  to  other  people.  The  matter  is  of  far 
too  great  import  to  the  child." 

"  How  would  you  arrange  ?  "  queried  Madame  van  Bus- 
sen,  with  sudden  interest.  "  Surely  the  mother  is  a  better 
judge  than  the  State." 

"  Oh,  bother  the  State  !  The  child  would  be  numbered, 
or  would  have  a  provisional  name,  till  it  came  to  years  of 
discretion,  and  then  it  would  be  allowed  to  choose  for 
itself." 

"  You  have  not  come  to  years  of  discretion  yet,  Isidor," 
said  Tante  Theresa  sharply,  "  and  therefore  you  would  be 
numbered  still.  You  would  be  nvimber  nought.  There  is 
Hendrik  coming  in  our  direction,  and  so  you  had  better  be 
off.  You  have  talked  to  us  quite  long  enough,  and  both 
you  and  we  are  in  need  of  a  diversion." 

She  nodded  her  gray  curls  and  crimson  ribbons  encour- 


A   STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.  311 

agingly  to  the  master  of  the  honse,  who  was  fraying  a  pas- 
sage towards  her,  having  just  bade  farewell  to  his  sister-in- 
law. 

"  I  too  have  lingered  here  too  long,"  said  Cornelia,  rising. 
She  was  not  anxious  for  close  proximity  with  Hendrik,  after 
the  discussion  of  a  few  hours  ago.  "  It  doesn't  do  for  a 
husband  and  wife  to  get  together ;  it  looks  as  if  they  were 
discussing  the  guests." 

"  And  the  entr'acte  has  lasted  quite  long  enough  already, 
my  dear  Cornelia,"  said  Cousin  Cocoa,  who  always  made 
herself  agreeable  in  return  for  the  hospitality  she  was  en- 
joying. "  Do  you  not  consider  it  would  be  advisable  to  in- 
quire what  is  keeping  them  from  beginning  again  ?  " 

At  this  hint  of  a  hitch  Cornelia  smiled  gently  :  "  Oh,  the 
poor  actors  must  have  a  rest,  you  know,  dear  Cousin,"  she 
said.  "  You  should  remember  that  it  is  so  different  for  us 
spectators,  who  merely  sit  still  and  look  on.  It  is  so  much 
less  tiring  to  criticise  others  than  to  expose  ourselves  to 
their  criticism,  you  know." 

Isidor  smiled  as  he  led  her  away  on  his  arm.  He  was  an 
unmarried  man.  He  could  afford  to  smile  at  the  stabs  of  a 
woman's  tongue. 

"  I  thank  Heaven,"  cried  Amelia  van  Bussen  to  Tante 
Theresa,  "  that  I  don't  give  such  parties  as  this,  if  that  is 
what  the  woman  means.  I  know  my  duty  better  towards 
Titus  and  such  of  my  own  thirteen  as  are  still  at  home  with 
me.  She  talks  of  Margaret,  as  if  it  were  a  disgrace  for  a 
woman  to  have  children.  Those  are  ncAV-fangled  fine-lady 
notions,  I  suppose." 

"  They  are  a  childless  woman's  notions,"  answered  Tante 
Theresa,  "  but  Cornelia  should  keep  them  to  herself.  In 
such  little  matters  one  can  still  always  perceive  that  she  is 
not  quite,  not  quite — enfln  ! — Ah,  Hendrik,  how  do  you  do? 
Yes,  they  act  very  well,  and  I  have  no  idea  what  the  word 
is.  Don't  tell  me,  as  I  don't  want  my  pleasure  to  be  spoilt. 
I  am  enjoying  myself  thoroughly,  and  so  is  Amelia." 


312  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  Please  let  me  speak  for  myself,  Tante  Theresa,"  inter- 
posed Amelia. 

"  I  cau  do  it  much  better,  my  dear,"  replied  Tante  The- 
resa coolly,  putting  up  her  gold  eye-glasses. — "  Ah,  Hendrik, 
there  is  your  uncle  Edward,  who  has  taken  your  place  by 
Margaretha's  side.  It  is  very  courteous  of  him,  and  I  like 
him  to  be  courteous,  but  she  cannot  understand  him,  nor 
he  her." 

"  My  sister-in-law  is  making  rapid  progress  in  Dutch," 
said  Hendrik.  "  She  tells  me  she  speaks  it  with  her  serv- 
ants." 

"  It  is  a  great  pity,"  remarked  Tante  Theresa,  "  that  she 
did  not  learn  French  before  she  came  here.  If  one  reads 
English  and  German,  as  I  do,  it  must  be  considered  suffi- 
cient. You  cannot  be  required  to  have  all  the  languages  of 
Europe  at  the  tip  of  your  tongue.  Besides,  the  thing  is 
suj^erfluous.  The  squabblers  of  the  tower  of  Babel  have 
long  ago  effected  a  compromise,  and  its  name  is  '  French.' " 

"  She  speaks  Chinese,  perhaps  ? "  hazarded  Mevrouw 
van  Bussen. 

"  Not  she.    She  has  only  been  ten  years  in  the  country." 

"  Oh,  but,  Tante  Theresa,  don't  be  so  hard  on  her," 
interposed  Hendrik.  "  She  is  really  doing  her  best  to  learn 
Dutch." 

"  She  is  succeeding,"  said  Mevrouw  van  Bussen.  "  Only 
half  an  hour  ago  she  informed  me  that  she  has  been  able  to 
make  poor  Elias  understand  her  for  some  time  past." 

"  Has  she  indeed  ?  I  did  not  know  that !  "  cried  Hen- 
drik, colouring  Avith  annoyance,  he  could  hardly  have  told 
himself  why.  But  everything  alarmed  him  in  connection 
with  Elias. 

"  Yes,"  Amelia  went  on,  "  so  you  see  her  Dutch  must  he 
pretty  fair  by  this  time,  though  she  is  naturally  shy  about 
showing  it  off.  And  she  must  have  given  herself  the 
trouble  to  learn  Elias's  alphabet  from  Hubert  into  the  bar- 
gain.    It  is  a  boon  for  that  poor,  unfortunate,  solitary " 


A  STRANGE  DUCK  IN  THE  POND.  313 

Cousin  Cocoa's  attitude  towards  the  Lossells  had  always 
been  one  of  unlimited  pity  of  their  step -brother.  "  No,  I 
think  her  very  painstaking,  and  she  has  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  those  children,  and  their  simple  way  of  living.  No,  I 
like  Margaret." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Tante  Overdyk  sharply.  "  So  does 
everyone." 

"  Yes,  certainly,"  assented  Hendrik,  "  so  does  everyone. 
So  do  I.  Only,  as  I  was  saying,  she  has  never  told  me  of 
this  intimacy  with  Elias.     And  I  cannot  understand " 

"  Hush,"  interrupted  Aunt  Theresa.  "  Don't  you  see  the 
curtain  has  gone  up  ?  Ah,  there  is  Adelheid  "  en  incroy- 
able."  Charming.  Charming.  Sit  down  next  to  me, 
Hendrik,  and  keep  quiet." 

But  Hendrik  was  gone. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE    POWER    OF    ATTOENEY. 

In  a  doorway  he  came  upon  Alers,  lounging  up  against 
a  "  portiere." 

"  Oh,  come  out  of  this,"  he  said  impatiently.  "  I  can't 
stand  any  more  of  this,  can  you  ? "  And  he  passed  on 
towards  the  staircase,  bright,  like  the  rest  of  the  house,  with 
greenery  and  hothouse  flowers  and  far-spreading  lamps. 

Alers  lounged  after  him,  with  a  quiet  smile,  which  dis- 
tinctly meant :  "  I  can  stand  it.  And  I  can  do  without  it. 
I  am  superior  to  my  environment." 

But  then,  unlike  Hendrik,  the  young  lawyer  had  no 
nerves. 

"  Sit  down  somewhere,"  commanded  Hendrik,  as  he 
sank  down  into  a  chair  in  the  repose  of  his  own  sanctum. 
"  Don't  stand  about,  please,  Thomas.  Let  us  get  a  sensa- 
tion of  rest  for  a  few  moments,  if  possible."  He  drew  a 
couple  of  cigar  boxes  towards  him,  and  extracted  a  "com- 
pany cigar."  So  much  enjoyment,  surely — sixpennyworth 
— he  might  rightfully  appropriate  out  of  the  lavishness  of 
his  wife's  fete.     He  pushed  the  box  across  to  Thomas. 

"  I  was  thinking,"  began  the  latter,  as  he  leisurely  struck 
a  light,  "  how  very  pretty  Adelheid  Overdyk  looked  in  that 
old-fashioned  puce.  I  had  no  idea  there  were  such  possi- 
bilities about  her." 

"  No  possibilities  for  you,  my  dear  boy,"  replied  Hen- 
drik, glad  of  the  opportunity  of  saying  something  pleasant 
to  his  "  friend."     "  The  Overdyks  are  the  most  retrograde 


THE  POWER  OF  ATTORNEY.  315 

people  in  the  city.  They  still  persist  in  marrying  each 
other  and  vegetating  on  less  than  ten  thousand  florins  a 
year." 

"  I  was  not  thinking  of  myself,"  answered  Alers.  "  I 
know  very  well  that  Adelheid  Overdyk  is  growing  gray  for 
her  cousin  Isidor.  Or,  at  least,  she  will  have  to,  unless  he 
make  up  his  mind.  Now,  if  my  heart  were  to  condemn  me 
to  matrimony,  I  should  never  make  the  mistake  of  appeal- 
ing to  my  brain." 

"  Your  heart !  "  said  Hendrik,  with  an  audible  sneer. 

"  Ah,  you  think  we  have  only  got  them  when  we  wear 
them  on  our  sleeves !  It  is  not  those  who  possess  the  high- 
est decorations  that  parade  them  most  obtrusively  in  their 
button-holes." 

"  Don't  talk  nonsense  to  me.  Tommy  !  "  cried  Hendrik 
impatiently,  stretching  out  his  little  feet  and  staring  at 
them,  as  was  his  wont.  Sentiment  from  your  lips  is  non- 
sense, because  you  don't  mean  it.  At  least,  not  to  me. 
AVhat  is  this  that  Cornelia  tells  me  about  some  wonderful 
new  plan  of  yours  ?  Another  syndicate  ?  I  wish  you 
wouldn't  speak  of  these  matters  to  Cornelia." 

"  I  spoke  of  it  to  her  as  a  private  affair  of  my  own," 
answered  Alers  carelessly,  watching  the  bluish  clouds  from 
his  cigar.  "  I  didn't  trouble  you  about  it,  because  I  had 
understood  you  to  say  you  were  never  going  in  for  anything 
speculative  again." 

"How  can  I  have  said  that,"  protested  Hendrik  irri- 
tably, "  after  the  mess  I  have  got  into  ?  It  is  all  very  well 
to  cry  out :  '  I  will  stop  ! '  when  you've  gone  over  the  cliff. 
What  am  I  to  do,  if  Hubert  finds  out  ?  " 

"  Hubert  will  not  find  out." 

"  But  supposing  he  does  ?  The  whole  thing  may  flash 
on  him  at  once  from  some  stupid  word  of  Elias's.  They 
are  always  with  Elias  nowadays.  The  children  are  sent 
over  to  play  with  him.  And  Hubert  goes  almost  daily  to 
visit  him,  as  my  father  used  to  do.     And  now  I  have  just 


316  GOD'S   POOL. 

heard  that  my  sister-in-law  has  been  quietly  busy  for  some 
time  practising  her  elementary  Dutch  on  his  neck  and 
hands." 

"  Ah,  that  was  your  mistake,"  said  Alers  ;  "  you  should 
have  kept  Hubert  away  a  couple  of  years  longer,  and  then 
all  would  have  been  right." 

"  I  ?  As  if  I  could  forbid  his  returning.  I  had  hard 
work  enough,  as  it  was,  to  obtain  any  respite  at  all.  And 
you  said  exactly  the  same  thing  at  the  time,  I  remember. 
'  Could  you  keep  him  out  yonder  a  couple  of  years,  then  all 
would  come  right ! '  Well,  I  succeeded  in  doing  so ;  and 
what's  the  result  ?  " 

"  If  there  were  not  always  an  element  of  uncertainty  in 
these  matters,"  said  Alers,  "  I  should  no  longer  be  a  poor 
struggling  lawyer,  but  a  milUardairc.'''' 

"  You  denied  the  element  of  uncertainty  in  the  syndi- 
cate," said  Hendrik,  "  and  the  day  after  you  had  denied 
it,  the  subscription  failed  completely.  I  had  to  take  up 
every  penny  of  the  sum  I  had  guaranteed." 

"  I  know  that,"  assented  Alers  impatiently.  "  I  can't 
help  it.  Whoever  could  have  thought  the  public  would 
have  behaved  so  idiotically?  Well,  the  shares  stand  in 
Elias's  name.  They  will  be  worth  a  lot  of  money  some 
day." 

"  Will  you  take  them  at  ten  per  cent.  ?  " 

"  How  often  must  I  tell  you  I  am  not  a  capitalist,  Hen- 
drik? What's  the  use  of  crying  over  spilt  milk?  Don't 
let's  talk  of  money  matters.  I  didn't  begin,  though  I  really 
believe  I  have  got  a  good  thing  this  time.  I'd  quite  as  lief 
keep  it  dark.  Let  us  talk  of  the  company  upstairs.  Listen, 
that  is  young  Titus  van  Bussen  singing  ! " 

"  Ah,  but  I  would  much  rather  talk  of  the  money.  It 
was  that  abominable  syndicate,  Alers,  which  first  compelled 
me  to  invest  Elias's  money  in  shares.  I  had  never  done 
so  before;  I  should  never  have  done  it  of  my  own  free 
will." 


THE  POWER  OP  ATTORNEY.  317 

"  It  was  not  the  syndicate,"  replied  Alers,  "  wliich  in- 
duced you  to  buy  the  petroleum." 

"It  was,"  retorted  Hendrik,  "  for  I  thought  it  would  be 
certain  to  go  up  one  florin  per  barrel,  and  that  would  just 
about  have  covered  the  deficit  from  that  syndicate  of 
yours." 

"  That's  right,  Henk.  Never  lay  the  blame  on  yourself," 
said  Alers.     "  By-the-bye,  how  is  petroleum  to-night  ?  " 

"  Gone  down  another  fifty.  That  completes  the  third 
florin,"  answered  Hendrik  moodily. 

"  Whew  !  "  said  Thomas  slowly.  "  One  hundred  thou- 
sand barrels,  and  a  fall  of  three  florins  per  barrel !  That 
makes  three  hundred  thousand  florins,  Henk." 

"  Don't  I  know  ? "  cried  Hendrik  fiercely.  "  Do  you 
fancy  I  can  no  longer  reckon  out  three  times  one  are  three  ? 
What  a  fool  you  are,  Alers !  Can't  you  leave  a  fellow 
alone  ?  " 

"  Let  us  talk  of  the  singing,"  said  Alers.  "  Did  I  not 
suggest  so  before  ?  It  appears  that  they  are  encoring  youug 
Titus.     How  conceited  he  will  be  ! " 

"  The  last  payment  is  due  on  Monday  week,"  burst  out 
Hendrik.  "  I  can't  hold  on.  I  shall  have  to  sell.  •  I  must 
have  three  '  tons  '  *  by  that  Monday,  Thomas.  If  I  don't, 
I  am  ruined.  And  where  to  get  them  I  cannot  tell.  In 
fact,  I  can't  get  them.     Of  course  not." 

"  What  will  you  do,  if  you  don't  ? "  queried  Thomas, 
again  watching  the  blue  rings  of  his  cigar. 

"  I  don't  answer,"  said  Hendrik  abruptly. 

"  Good  heavens,  Hendrik,  you  don't  mean  to  say  you  are 
such  a  fool  as  to  think  of  doing  something  desperate? 
Talk  of  calling  me  names.     I  return  the  compliment." 

''  Am  I  the  sort  of  man  who  kills  himself  ?  "  said  Hen- 
drik, with  a  sickly  smile. 

"  Everybody  is,"  answered  the  lawyer.     "  All  that  is  re- 

*  Three  hundred  thousand  florins. 


318  GOD'S  FOOL. 

quired  is  the  sort  of  case.  Every  one  of  us  can  go  mad 
except  the  idiots.  I  believe  you  will  survive  everything, 
Hendrik,  except  commercial  disgrace." 

"  Take  another  cigar,"  said  Hendrik. 

"  By ,  you  are  in  earnest !  "  cried  Alers  in  horror- 
struck  tones.  There  was  a  moment  of  silence  between 
them.  The  jingle  of  the  music  came  rippling  its  laughter 
from  upstairs. 

"  This  is  too  horrible,"  continued  the  lawyer.  "  Don't 
let's  talk  of  such  things.  It  attracts  them.  Surely  matters 
are  not  as  desperate  as  you  say." 

"  I  must  have  the  money.  Any  child  can  understand 
that."     Again  a  short  silence. 

"You  have  that  power  of  attorney  still,"  says  Alers 
presently.  "  The  deed  signed  by  Elias  at  the  time  to  enable 
you  to  take  the  syndicate  money  oif  the  Great  Book  of  the 
National  Debt." 

"  You  know  the  thing  was  only  valid  for  a  year." 

"  But  my  friend  Linx,  as  he  was  willing  to  make  out  one 
for  you,  would  doubtless  be  quite  ready  to  repeat  the  oper- 
ation." 

"  Don't  you  see  there  is  Hubert  ?  "  cried  Hendrik.  "  If 
we  take  Linx  to  Elias  now,  Hubert  is  sure  to  find  out  all 
about  it,  and  then  I  am  lost." 

"  Take  Hubert  into  your  confidence.  Make  a  clean 
breast  of  it.     After  all,  you  have  done  nothing  wrong." 

"  I  can't,"  said  Hendrik,  "  I  simply  can't.  Hubert  has 
the  absurdest  ideas  about  our  duty  to  Elias.  He  is  chival- 
rous. And  mystical.  And — Heaven  knows  what.  We 
don't  understand  each  other.  If  I  told  him,  he  might  run 
to  the  Police." 

"  Don't  be  a  child,  Hendrik.  I  repeat,  you  have  done 
nothing  wrong.  You  decided  to  advise  Elias  to  take  some 
of  his  money  out  of  Government  Securities,  and  to  invest  it 
in  shares.  As  the  law  requires  a  power  of  attorney  to  enable 
you  to  represent  your  brother,  the  necessary  deed  was  made 


THE  POWER  OF  ATTORNEY.  319 

out  by  my  friend,  who  is  a  competent  Notary,  and  signed 
by  Elias.  The  shares  may  be  worth  any  sum  in  a  year  or 
two." 

"  Hubert  wouldn't  understand,"  repeated  Hendrik,  shak- 
ing his  head. 

"  As  for  your  other  speculations,  those  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter.  But  now  you  have  got  into  a  mess. 
What  you  want  is — speaking  plainly — for  Elias  to  advance 
you  the  money.  Hubert  must  help  you  in  that.  Your 
next  speculation  will  succeed,  and  you  will  repay  it.  That 
is  all.  I  am  certain  that,  if  Hubert  understands  in  what 
degree  the  honour  of  the  house,  of  the  name,  is  involved, 
he  will  come  to  appreciate  his  personal  interest  in  the 
matter." 

"  I  daren't  do  it,"  persisted  Hendrik.  "  It  is  exactly  as 
you  say.  And  quite  true.  But  I  daren't  do  it.  If  it  were 
ten  thousand,  perhaps,  or  twenty,  I  might !  But  not  three 
hundred  thousand.     I  daren't." 

"  Then,  my  dear  Hendrik,  you  will  go  smash." 

"There  is  always  one  comfort,"  replied  Hendrik  in  a 
low  voice.     "  That  the  complete  smash  is  the  finale." 

"  Look  here,"  said  Thomas,  once  more  alarmed.  "  Let 
me  tell  you  first  what  this  plan  is  about  which  I  dropj^ed  a 
word  to  Cornelia.  I  had  hoped  it  would  have  made  your 
fortune  once  for  all.  As  it  is,  it  may  help  you  out  of  your 
difficulty." 

"  You  can  tell  me,"  answered  Hendrik  incredulously,  "  if 
you  like." 

"  You  know  the  South  Sumatra  Tobacco  Company  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  said  Hendrik  testily.  "  Its  shares  are  on 
'Change.  They  touched  five  hundred  above  par  a  week  ago. 
Their  last  dividend  amounted  to  thirty  per  cent." 

"  Just  so.  Well,  I  am  in  a  position  to  assure  you  that 
they  will  declare  fifty-five  at  their  next  meeting  on  the 
eighteenth." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  answered  Hendrik.     "  That  shows 


320  GOD'S  FOOL. 

how  little  you  know  about  these  matters.  I  liave  heard 
it  confidentially  whispered  that  the  very  reverse  will  be  the 
case." 

"  I  know,"  said  Thomas  imperturbably.  "  In  fact,  I 
know  more  than  you  think.  It  is  being  '  confidentially 
whispered,'  as  you  say,  that  the  year  has  been  a  bad  one.  We 
are  all  aware  of  the  instability  of  these  tobacco-shares.  The 
South  Sumatra  Company's  are  going  down.  They  will  sink 
very  near  five  hundred  in  a  few  days,  you  will  see.  And  the 
day  after  the  public  meeting,  they  will  be  up  to  eight  hun- 
dred at  least." 

"  I  dare  say  ! "  said  Hendrik. 

"  Why  not  ?  Arendsburgs  are  at  one  thousand  and 
twenty." 

"  And  who  gave  you  this  valuable  information  ?  " 

"  That  is  my  secret.  No,  I  will  make  it  ours.  Truth 
to  tell,  my  informant  is  no  less  a  person  than  one  of  the 
board  of  directors.  If  you  swear  secrecy,  I  will  tell  you 
his  name." 

"  All  right.     I  swear." 

But  Alers  insisted  upon  an  oath  in  propria  forma.  He 
was  so  evidently  in  earnest  that  Hendrik  grew  impressed. 

"  It  is  Lankater,"  said  Thomas.  "  I  had  occasion  recently 
to  do  him  some  considerable  service,  in  a  professional  way, 
in  connection  with  his  wife.  You  understand  me.  Divorce 
made  easier.     Well,  he  gave  me  this  hint." 

"  I  can't,  Thomas,"  said  Hendrik.  "  You  must  forgive 
me.  Not  after  the  syndicate.  I  daren't.  And  there  was 
that  other  affair,  besides,  in  which  you  were  mistaken.  I 
daren't  do  it." 

"  I  assure  you  this  is  genuine,"  cried  Thomas  vehement- 
ly. "  I  really  want  to  help  you.  You're  in  a  most  terrible 
fix,  and  I  was  delighted  Avith  an  opportunity  for  coming  to 
your  assistance.  I  can't  think  what  you'll  do  if  you  don't 
struggle  out." 

He  was  honestly  alarmed.     And   it  Avas  perfectly  true, 


THE  POWER  OF  ATTORNEY.  32I 

as  he  repeated,  that  his  information,  as  well  as  his  anxiety 
to  help  his  brother-in-law,  could  be  looked  upon  as  bond-fide. 
He  had  really  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity.  It  was 
in  his  interest  also  that  Cornelia's  husband  should  not  go 
down  in  the  sea  of  disgrace. 

But  Hendrik,  being  a  burnt  child,  hung  back  from  these 
bright  allurements. 

"  Look  here,"  cried  Thomas  in  final  despair.  "  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  can  do  ;  and  there's  not  another  man  for 
whom  I  would  do  it.  I  will  shut  you  up  in  the  big  wall- 
cupboard — you  know — in  my  office,  and — by  George — you 
shall  hear  Lankater  repeat  the  news  to  me  yourself.  Will 
that  suffice  you  ?  " 

"  You  are  very  much  in  earnest,"  said  Hendrik  musingly. 
"  I  believe  Lankater  to  be  an  honest  man." 

"  Of  business,"  said  Thomas. 

"  Of  business,"  said  Hendrik. 

"  You  shall  hear  the  truth  from  his  own  lips.  And  then, 
when  you  know  it  to  be  exactly  as  I  say,  you  must  buy  one 
hundred  shares — do  you  understand  me? — one  hundred 
shares  as  near  five  hundred  per  cent,  as  you  can.  In  a 
couple  of  weeks  you  can  sell  them  again  at  eight  hundred 
per  cent." 

"  It  is  too  gigantic,"  murmured  Hendrik. 

"  Is  your  need  so  small  ?  " 

"  No,  but  it  is  easy  enough  to  say  :  '  Buy  shares.'  Where 
am  I  to  find  the  money  ?     Half  a  million,  by  Jove  !  " 

"  Bankers  ?  "  suggested  Thomas. 

"  Impossible.  Every  bond  I  possess  lias  been  used  as 
security  long  ago.  Besides,  half  a  million?  No,  the  bank- 
ers must  be  left  out  of  the  concern." 

Again  a  silence,  a  long  one  this  time.  And  the  jingle  of 
fresh  music  upstairs. 

"  You  must  have  the  money,"  said  Alers.  "  It  is  as  you 
say.  There  is  no  alternative.  And,  besides,  it  is  a  case  of 
complete  ruin  on  one  side,  and  complete  salvation  on  the 
31 


322  GOD'S  FOOL. 

other.  This  is  no  time  to  hesitate.  "Where  is  the  power  of 
attorney  ?    Let  me  see  it." 

"  But  it  is  absokitely  useless  ! " 

"  Let  me  see  it." 

Hendrik  got  up,  opened  one  of  the  drawers  of  his  bureau, 
and  produced  the  document. 

His  friend  took  it  and  scanned  it  hurriedly.  Then  he 
read  it  over  again,  slowly. 

"  It  would  be  impossible  to  alter  the  dates,"  he  said  softly, 
almost  to  himself. 

"  Thomas  !  "  cried  Hendrik,  starting  from  his  chair  with 
livid  face.  His  cigar  fell  to  the  floor.  He  did  not  observe 
it.  An  immensity  of  sincerest  horror  weighed  down  the 
single  word.  It  seemed  to  linger  heavy  on  the  air  of  the 
silent  room. 

The  young  lawyer  looked  up  quickly,  struck  to  the  heart 
by  the  fierce  emotion  of  the  cry.  He  smiled.  "  I  was  only 
joking,  of  course,"  he  said.  "  These  fellows  take  sufficient 
precautions  against  so  easy  a  '  circulating  library  '-solution 
as  that." 

"  Some  things  are  not  fit  subjects  for  joking." 

"  True,  your  situation  is  too  desperate  for  you  to  relish  a 
joke.  Well,  I  must  think  out  some  method  of  assisting  you. 
I  shall  ask  Linx  whether  the  validity  of  this  document  can- 
not be  prolonged.  Your  over-scrupulous  conscience  Avould 
have  no  objection,  I  suppose,  if  you  were  absolutely  certain 
of  the  success  of  this  dividend-business,  to  purchasing  a 
hundred  South  Sumatra  shares  for  Elias  to-day,  and  to  buy- 
ing them  back  of  him  at  the  same  price  in  a  week  or  two." 

"If  I  were  absolutely  certain,"  said  Hendrik  hesitat- 
ingly.    "No." 

"All  we  want  is  the  loan  of  a  few  hundred  thousand 
florins  out  of  Elias's  Government  Stock  for  a  very  brief 
period,"  said  Thomas,  rising  to  his  feet.  "We  must  see 
that  we  get  them." 

"  You  can't,"  reiterated  Hendrik. 


THE  POWER  OP  ATTORNEY.  323 

"  We  must  see,  my  dear  Riglit  Worshipful.  I  must 
deliberate.  But  one  thing,  if  you  please.  If  I  arrange 
this  matter  for  you,  it  is  understood,  that  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  all  profits  go  to  me." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Hendrik,  taken  aback. 

"Why?  Because  the  whole  transaction  is  practically 
mine.     Who  told  you  about  the  South  Sumatra  Company  ?  " 

"  So  be  it,  Thomas.  But  I  don't  move  a  step  till  I  have 
heard  Lankater,  as  you  promised  just  now." 

"  You  shall  hear  him  to-morrow,  or  the  day  after.  And 
we  will  put  down  our  own  little  agreement  about  my  share 
on  a  scrap  of  stamped  paper.  It  is  always  simplest  to  be 
accurate  in  these  matters.  And  now  that  is  settled,  I  had 
better  be  going  upstairs  again.  The  whole  thing  will  be 
pretty  nigh  over  by  this  time."  He  put  down  his  unfinished 
cigar  on  an  ash-tray,  and,  carefully  folding  up  the  legal 
document,  slipped  it  slowly  into  the  inner  pocket  of  his 
dress-coat. 

"  Give  me  back  that  paper,"  said  Hendrik  anxiously, 
holding  out  his  hand. 

"  I  may  as  well  show  it  to  Linx,  and  ask  him  what  he 
advises.  You  are  perfectly  sure  that  you  could  not  get 
Elias  to  consent  to  signing  another  ?  " 

"  Perfectly  sure.  Both  he  and  Johanna  would  consult 
Hubert  at  once." 

"  Well,  I  dare  say  Linx  will  see  his  way  to  obtaining  a 
fresh  recognition.  There  is  no  reason,  really,  you  know, 
for  restricting  these  things  to  a  twelvemonth.  No  moral 
reason,  certainly.  Only  one  of  expediency.  Aren't  you 
coming  up  ?  Not  to  your  own  party  ?  Not  feel  festive,  I 
suppose  ?  Leave  all  that  kind  of  thing  to  Cornelia  ?  Ta, 
ta,  then." 

"  It  is  worth  while,"  said  the  young  lawyer  to  himself, 
as  he  slowly  mounted  the  broad  staircase  among  the 
flowers  and  the  perfumes  and  the  liglits.  "  It  would  be  a 
risky  thing,  perhaps,  if  the  chance  of   success  were   less 


324  GOD'S  FOOL. 

certain.  But  tlie  money  will  undoubtedly  be  paid  back 
again  in  less  than  a  fortnight,  and  then,  should  anything 
happen  to  leak  out,  Hendrik  will  be  able  to  take  the  blame 
upon  him  as  regards  Hubert.  Nothing  succeeds  like  suc- 
cess." 

"  Twenty-five  per  cent.,"  he  added,  as  he  turned  into 
the  crowded  supper-room.  "  For  me  it  will  mean,  as  for 
Hendrik,  escape  from  otherwise  irretrievable  ruin.  Does 
he  think  I  am  doing  it  all  for  Cornelia's  husband  ?  The 
magnitude  of  our  need  would  excuse  every  measure  im- 
aginable.— Ah,  how  do  you  do,  van  Bussen?  Your  singing 
was  excellent.  The  whole  of  that  scene,  I  thought,  was 
particularly  good.     Have  they  found  out  the  word '? " 

Hendrik  sat  in  the  loneliness  of  his  own  room,  his  head 
bent  forward  between  his  two  hands.  He  sat  quite  still. 
Once  only  he  groaned  aloud,  and  then  coughed  nervously, 
as  if  to  cover  the  groan  from  himself. 

"  Is  it  possible,"  he  thought,  "  that  I  have  sunk  so  low, 
and  that  my  need  is  so  terrible,  that  Alers  could  speak  to 
me  of  altering  dates  ?  " 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

THE    MESSAGE    OF   ETERNAL   SPRING. 

Margaret  was  sitting  by  Elias's  side  on  that  breezy 
April  morning.  She  had  laid  her  hand  npou  his,  in  token 
of  silent  companionshiji.  "  Was  he  thinking  ?  "  she  asked 
herself  as  she  looked  up  into  his  unmoved  face.  "  Or 
dozing  in  the  dulness  of  his  day-dreams  ?  " 

From  the  farther  end  of  the  grounds,  by  the  stables,  the 
voices  of  her  children  would  come  over  occasionally,  borne 
hither  and  thither  on  gusts  of  the  fresh  spring  wind,  cries 
of  laughter  and  shrill  excitement,  or  of  sudden  protest  and 
passion,  intermingled  with  gruff  uproar  from  the  great, 
deep-throated  St.  Bernard.  They  were  playing  out  yonder, 
under  the  supervision  of  their  English  nurse,  the  two  who 
could  run  and  the  two  who  could  toddle.  The  woman 
must  have  found  her  hands  pretty  full. 

And  over  the  wide  stretch  of  garden,  already  restless 
with  unreasoning  impulses  under  its  hard  black  coverlet, 
over  the  lofty  clear  sky,  a-tingle  with  movement,  and  the 
gaunt  tops  of  the  distant  trees,  rocking  naked  and  desolate 
— over  all  this  lay  tliat  strange  sensation  of  awakening, 
when  life  is  still  half  asleep  yet  nevertheless  alert  and 
alive. 

Dame  Nature  was  sitting  up  in  bed  and  rubbing  her 
eyes,  and  coughing. 

The  children  felt  it,  unconsciously.  And  they  ran  the 
faster — the  two  who  could  run — and  the  red-jacketed 
toddlers   toddled   the   more  briskly — for  this  newness  of 


326  GOD'S  FOOL. 

health  that  was  in  them,  and  in  the  slender  twigs  and 
sinewy  branches,  and  in  all  the  cracking,  bursting,  breaking 
soil  that  seemed  to  heave  under  your  feet,  as  if  a  giant  were 
tossing  underneath  in  his  slumber.  And  already  a  faint 
haze  and  glimmer  of  earliest  green  played  here  and  there 
across  the  blackness.  You  looked  down,  at  your  feet,  and 
you  could  not  trace  it,  but  you  looked  uj)  again,  across  the 
whole  field,  and  there  it  lay.  Already,  too,  the  birds  were 
chirping  to  each  other,  in  little  sudden,  occasional  breaks, 
tentative  snatches  of  music,  influenced,  not  so  much  by  the 
joys  they  actually  experienced,  as  by  those  which  they  felt 
to  be  coming.  You  might  have  said  that  they  were  tuning 
up  for  the  great  concert,  only  that  those  cheap,  little  home- 
made instruments  of  theirs  are  never  out  of  tune. 

"  I  am  happy,"  said  Elias,  quietly,  placidly.  She  looked 
up  again,  and  saw  that  he  was  not  asleep,  not  even  dream- 
ing, but  thinking,  thinking  hard,  for  him.  "  I  am  very 
happy.  This  kind  of  wind  always  makes  me  feel  as  if  some- 
thing delightful  were  going  to  happen,  as  if  all  the  old  de- 
lightful past  were  coming  back  again.  I  am  happier,  I 
think,  since  you  came  back  to  me.  Mother  Margaretha.  I 
wish  you  had  never  gone  away.  And  why  don't  the  others 
who  have  gone  away  come  back  to  me,  Papa,  and — and 
Tonnerre  ?  I  want  them  back.  Is  it  wrong  to  want  back 
Tonnerre  almost  as  much  as  I  want  Papa  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Margaret,  wondering  to  herself  whether 
wiser  people  would  not  say  "  Yes." 

"  I  think  they  ought  to  come  back  to  me.  Johanna 
says  they  can't,  because  they  are  dead.  But  Johanna  must 
be  mistaken,  because  she  said  you  were  dead ;  and  you  have 
come  back.  As  soon  as  you  came  back  and  were  kind  to 
me  and  taught  me,  I  remembered  all  about  it — I  don't  think 
I  had  ever  quite  forgotten — and  I  understood  she  must  be 
wrong.  Where  are  they.  Mother  Margaretha  ?  Why  don't 
they  come  ?  Why  do  some  people  live  in  our  hearts  only, 
and  others  in  our  hearts  and  our  houses,  too  ?    What  is  it 


THE  MESSAGE  OF  ETERNAL  SPRING.  327 

they  call  'being  dead'?  Johanna  saj'S  dead  people  can't 
hear  or  see  or  taste  or  feel  or  anything.  They  don't  know 
anything  about  anything,  she  says.  I  don't  know  much, 
and  I  can't  hear  or  see.     Am  I  nearly  dead  ?  " 

Before  she  could  find  fitting  reply,  he  caught  up  the 
tangled  thread  again,  and  continued  in  his  slow,  lumbering 
way  : 

"  It's  not  true,  what  Johanna  says  about  their  not  know- 
ing. I  don't  mean  '  not  true,'  but  I  mean  she  doesn't  know, 
as  when  she  said  the  poor  people  liked  to  be  hungry.  The 
dead  ones,  as  Johanna  calls  them,  go  on  loving  you,  and 
you  go  on  lonng  them  " — his  clear  voice  sank  to  an  awe- 
struck whisper — "  I  know  about  that.  And  you  must  know 
it  all,  and  can  tell  me,  Mother  Margaretha,  because  Johan- 
na always  said  you  were  dead.  Or  was  she  mistaken  about 
that,  and  were  you  never  quite  dead — dear — more  like 
me?" 

Conversation  with  Elias  was  very  laborious  for  his  Eng- 
lish sister-in-law.  She  understood  him  better  than  she  un- 
derstood most  of  his  compatriots,  on  account  of  the  slow- 
ness and  simplicity  of  his  speech,  but  to  answer  him  she 
must  carefully  spell  every  word  she  employed.  Still,  even 
here,  she  had  the  advantage  of  unlimited  leisure.  On  the 
whole — in  spite  of  difficulties — she  preferred  a  talk  with  the 
deaf  man  to  most  of  her  other  struggles  in  Dutch.  She  only 
regretted  that  the  capabilities  of  communication  should  be 
so  restricted.  Understanding  that  in  many  matters  Elias 
had  remained  stationary,  she  had  taken  her  intercourse  with 
her  own  eldest  boy  as  a  more  or  less  satisfactory  model  to 
imitate,  but  she  could  not  help  perceiving  the  frequent  di- 
vergencies between  a  growing  and  a  grown-up  child.  She 
did  her  best,  striving  to  complete  Johanna's  work,  without 
exciting  the  old  woman's  jealousy.  To  increase  Elias's 
fund  of  general  knowledge,  she  was  soon  obliged  to  admit, 
seemed  a  hopeless  as  well  as  a  useless  undertaking.  She 
concentrated  whatever  influence  she  had — and  to  her  joy  she 


32S  GOD'S  FOOL, 

saw  it  daily  deepening — upon  the  effort  to  give  him  some 
conception  of  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Christian 
Faith.  Johanna  was  naturally  jealous,  in  spite  of  all  pre- 
cautions. But  she  loved  her  charge  too  well  to  show  any 
annoyance  at  a  new  state  of  affairs  which  evidently  procured 
him  both  pleasure  and  profit.  She  slipped  into  the  back- 
ground, sadly  but  silently.  And  therein,  surely,  lies  the 
very  mastery  of  love. 

Margaret  plodded  through  the  "  Peep  of  Day "  with 
Eli  as,  translating  as  much  as  even  he  could  understand 
and  remember  into  her  own  broken  Dutch.  Johanna  had 
taught  the  fool  a  large  morality,  but  she  had  never  spoken 
to  him,  at  all  clearly  or  systematically,  of  revealed  religion 
as  such.  From  "  Mother  Margaretha's "  lips  he  now  first 
heard  the  story  of  the  Lord  Christ :  the  Child  Christ,  the 
Christ  on  the  Cross.  It  impressed  him  somewhat  as  it 
might  come  home  to  the  heart  of  a  savage  from  African 
forest-depths,  always  supposing  the  savage  to  be  a  man  of 
naturally  generous  impulses.  He  could  not  fathom  it  clear- 
ly ;  he  could  not  always  remember  it  accurately,  but  in- 
stinctively he  accepted  it  as  deeply  human,  immeasurably 
divine,  and  his  heart,  struck  to  its  centre  by  the  new, 
strange,  glorious  revelation,  uncovered  before  it  and  sank 
down  adoring,  as  in  the  visible  presence  of  God.  "  The 
Lord,"  he  would  repeat  softly  to  himself  in  loving,  solemn 
accents,  sometimes  taking  up  the  refrain  from  time  to  time 
and  lingering  over  it  with  a  flow  of  hidden  meaning. 
What  was  he  thinking  of  at  such  moments?  Margaret 
hardly  dared  to  ask  him.  Though  he  would  speak  at 
times,  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  own  reserve,  yet,  on  the 
whole,  he  was  silent  and  sensitive,  and  would  almost  seem 
to  resent  being  questioned.  Those  who  knew  him  best 
could  but  admit  that  they  knew  him  in  parts.  You  cannot 
see  more  than  patches  of  blue  in  a  sky  over  which  the 
clouds  are  hurrying.  But  you  can  comprehend  at  a  glance 
that  the  essence  of  that  sky  is  light.     And  they  whose  eyes 


THE  MESSAGE  OP  ETERNAL  SPRING.  329 

watched  most  faithfully  for  the  breaks  in  the  mists  of  the 
poor  fool's  being,  understood  that  its  one  unalterable,  oft- 
intercepted  light  was  love. 

And  to  him  the  Divine  Man  became  a  living,  light-giv- 
ing reality,  for  in  the  silence  of  his  Holy  of  Holies,  before 
which  God  Himself  had  drawn  the  curtain,  the  Shekinah 
could  burn  forth  with  steady  radiance;  it  is  we,  not  the 
Builder  of  our  Tabernacle,  who  refused  to  rest  till  we  had 
torn  open  the  veil,  and  had  let  in  the  naked  glare  of  our 
soul-selling  and  wisdom-mongering  upon  the  unsullied  pu- 
rity enshrined  within.  Elias  dwelt,  God-protected,  in  the 
solitude.  And  he  touched  the  Wound  in  the  Sacred  Side, 
and  sank  doT\Ti  to  kiss  the  hem  of  a  Garment  which  rustled 
audibly  upon  his  deafness,  and  in  the  great  silence — un- 
peopled but  by  some  few  Priests  of  Love — he  heard,  as  the 
sharp-eyed,  the  loud-voiced,  have  never  time  to  hear  it,  the 
Accents  of  the  Sacred  A^oice. 

"  We  would  see  Jesus,"  say,  sick  with  staring,  they  who 
transparently  see  everything  but  Him  in  the  Heavens  above 
and  the  Earth  beneath  and  the  Waters  that  are  under  the 
Earth.  The  blind  man,  who  knew  nothing  of  microscope 
or  telescope,  said,  "  I  see  Him,"  and  was  at  rest.  He  saw 
Him  because  of  the  darkness  ?  So  be  it.  So  do  men  see 
the  stars. 

Did  I  not  tell  you,  Fellow-Koopstader,  that  my  story 
was  a  bright  one  ? 

"  But  I  am  not  Mother  Margaretha,  Elias,"  spelled 
Margaret,  with  affectionate  caress.  "  Don't  you  remem- 
ber I  told  you  so  before?  I  am  come  to  remind  you 
of  her.  Perhaps  I  am  like  her.  I  love  you  also  as  she 
did." 

"  I  remember,"  said  Elias  sadly,  so  sadly  that  again  she 
wondered,  as  she  had  done  before,  whether  it  was  worth 
while  to  undeceive  him. 

After  a  time  ho  added  :  "  I  did  not  want  to  be  reminded 


330  GOD'S  FOOL. 

of  her.  I  have  never  forgotten.  Where  is  she?  Where 
are  the  dead  people '?    Why  don't  they  come  back  ?  " 

"  They  live  with  God,"  answered  Margaret. 

"  But  God  is  everywhere,  says  Johanna.  And  so  do 
you.  If  God  can  live  with  me  and  with  my  dead  people, 
isn't  it  unkind  of  Him  to  live  wdth  both  of  us  ajiart?" 

"  Hush,  hush,  Elias.  No.  He  knows  it  is  better  for 
you  to  live  here  now,  and  He  will  bring  you  to  tliem  after- 
wards." 

"  And  does  Tonnerre  live  with  God  too  ? " 

When  Hubert  came  presently  to  fetch  his  party  home, 
he  found  the  four  children,  even  the  smallest,  romping 
frantically  with  their  big,  blind  uncle  amid  shrieks  of 
hyperhilarious  glee.  They  were  struggling  to  get  at  the 
sweets  which  they  knew  to  be  secreted  in  various  pockets  all 
over  his  wide  expanse  of  Scotch  tweed,  or  firmly  enclosed — 
the  non-sticky-ones — in  the  clutch  of  his  powerful  hands. 
Small  arms  and  legs  were  all  over  him,  small  feet  especially 
numerous  according  to  the  rule  which  seems  to  provide 
every  tiny  morsel  of  humanity  that  clambers  over  you  with 
half  a  dozen  active  kickers  at  the  least.  Small  fingers  were 
struggling  and  tugging  and  thumping.  Small  voices — 
small  but  shrill — were  clamouring  and  pleading  and  gasp- 
ing, forgetful  that  this  uncle  could  do  nothing  but  feel ! 
Ah,  how  he  could  feel !  His  voice  rose  loudest  of  all,  as  he 
remonstrated,  reproached,  roared  with  laughter  and  trium- 
phant challenge.  Even  the  baby  w^as  vainly  trying  to  com- 
pass one  of  his  legs.  Margaret  drew  her  arm  through  her 
husband's,  and  together  they  stood  watching,  with  a  pitiful 
smile  upon  their  faces. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

A    FLASH    OF    LIGHT. 

"  Hubert,"  said  Elias — they  were  alone  together.  "  I 
want  you  to  take  me  to  see  my  poor  people.  Hendrik 
never  takes  me  now.  He  says —  Oh,  I  forgot !  "  Elias 
stopped  suddenly.  He  puckered  up  his  lips,  and  then, 
after  a  vain  effort  to  control  himself,  he  gave  way,  and,  to 
his  brother's  surprise  and  dismay,  burst  into  tears. 

"What  is  it?"  queried  Hubert  anxiously,  seizing  the 
deaf  man's  hand.     "What  is  it,  Elias?    Dear  boy!" 

It  was  some  time  before  the  distressed  man — I  had 
almost  written  "  child  ' — was  sufficiently  composed  to  give 
a  reasonable  reply,  and  then  he  would  only  say  :  "  Xo,  he 
had  meant  nothing.  He  had  made  a  mistake.  He  had 
forgotten."  He  grew  quite  agitated.  "  Let  us  talk  of 
sometliing  else." 

"  But  I  am  very  willing  to  talk  to  you  about  your  poor," 
said  Hubert.  "  Whom  do  you  mean  by  your  poor  ?  The 
people  who  come  to  your  gate  so  regularly  ?  That  wretched 
Jops,  whom  Johanna  so  especially  dislikes,  I  often  wonder 
why  ?  " 

Elias's  forehead  twitched  nervously  at  the  mention  of  the 
deaf  and  dumb  pedlar. 

"  Xo,  no,"  he  reiterated.  "  There  are  no  poor.  I  mean 
that  was  not  it.  It's  nothing.  Hush,  Hubert,  don't  you 
hear  my  canary  beginning  to  sing?" 

They  were  both  silent,  and  Hubert  stood,  perplexed, 
gazing  at  the  deaf  man  before  him  and  listening  to  the 
bird. 


332  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  It  sings  better  than  its  father  did,"  remarked  Elias 
after  a  while.  "  I  am  ghid  it  Avas  born  here.  It  is  quite 
my  canary,  this  one.  I  am  glad  it  sings  so  well.  Don't 
you  think  it  does  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Hubert. 

"  A  bad  man  came,"  Elias  went  on,  with  a  sudden  burst 
of  indignation,  crimsoning  all  over,  "  and  wanted  to  sell  us 
a  poor  little  singing-bird,  and  he  had  put  out  its  eyes  to 
make  it  sing  better.  Just  fancy  that,  Hubert.  I  wanted 
to  seize  him  and  put  out  his  eyes  with  my  fingers.  I  think 
that  would  have  been  right.  But  Johanna  said  I  mightn't." 
This  incident  had  happened  several  years  ago,  but  Elias  had 
forgotten  that.  "  I  have  sometimes  thought  since,"  he 
added,  "  whether  God  puts  out  some  people's  eyes  to  make 
them  sing  better — in  their  hearts,  I  mean.  Because  Mother 
Margaretha  says  we  must  always  sing  to  God." 

Hubert  did  not  answer. 

"  She  says  we  must  all  be  like  Christ,"  the  blind  man 
continued.  "Do  you  know,  Hubert"  —  pensively  —  "I 
think  I  am  very  much  like  Christ,  almost  altogether  like 
Christ." 

"  What  can  he  mean  ?  "  thought  Hubert,  who  knew  too 
little  of  Christ  to  understand  that  any  man  could  in  any 
way  be  like  Him. 

"  She  says  that  Christ  gave  up  everything  for  everybody 
who  had  nothing.  "Well,  you  know  I  did  that,  as  well  as  I 
could.  Almost.  Only  not  quite.  And  I  have  been  think- 
ing I  should  like  to  be,  not '  nearly  like  Christ,'  but '  exactly 
like  Him.'  There  is  the  carriage,  now.  I  don't  want  the 
carriage,  for  I  can  walk  very  well.  I  can  walk  a  great  deal 
better  than  Johanna.  And  therefore,  Hubert,  I  want  to 
give  the  carriage  to  the  lame  man  at  my  cottage.  He  needs 
it  much  more  than  I  do.  But  I  wanted  to  ask  you  about 
it,  before  I  spoke  to  Hendrik,  because  you  gave  me  the  car- 
riage, and  it  was  very  good  of  you,  Hubert.  I  know  you 
have  always  wanted  me  to  keep  it,  but  you  will  let  me  give 


A  FLASH  OF  LIGHT.  333 

it  to  lame  Laurens,  won't  you  ?  " — his  voice  became  plead- 
ing, and  he  opened  his  eyes  and  turned  them  on  his  brother 
— "  when  you  see  how  far  I  can  walk,  and  remember  that 
we  must  all  be  exactly  like  Christ?" 

"  AVe  shall  see,"  spelled  Hubert,  not  knowing  what  to 
decide. 

"  You  mustn't  think  that  it  is  because  I  don't  care  for 
it,"  Elias  went  on  eagerly.  "  I  like  it.  At  least  "  (a  con- 
cession to  his  strict  regard  for  truth),  "  I  like  the  horses 
very  much.  And  I  shall  miss  patting  them  and  giving  them 
sugar.  Look  here,  Hubert,  I  Avant  to  tell  you  something — 
I  didn't  want  to  at  first,  because  I  was  afraid  you  might 
think  me  conceited,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  now  so  you 
should  see  I  do  care  for  the  carriage.  I  am  going  to 
give  away  all  the  flowers  to  the  people  who  can  see.  And 
you  know  I  like  the  flowers.  But  what  is  the  use  of  them 
to  me  ?  I  can't  see  them.  And  they  ought  to  go  to  the 
people  who  can.  So  I  am  going  to  give  one  to  every  poor 
person  who  Avill  have  it,  till  they  are  all  gone.  I  told  Jo- 
hanna. And  they  will  be  able  to  look  at  them  all  day,  and 
enjoy  them.  I  can't.  At  least,  I  can  enjoy  tliem,  but  not 
really.  I  wanted,  at  first,  to  keep  my  heliotropes,  which  I 
planted  myself,  because  of  the  smell.  Perhaps  I  might  keep 
those,  but — but  what's  the  use  of  keeping  those  only  ?  I 
don't  tliink  Christ  had  any  flowers  of  His  own  that  He 
would  have  kept.     And  then  I  shall  be  exactly  like  Christ." 

"  But,  Elias,"  interposed  Hubert,  "  you  need  not  give 
your  flowers  to  the  poor  people.  We  can  buy  some  for  them 
Avith  your  money,  and  you  can  distribute  them  yourself." 

Elias  shook  his  head.  "  And  what  would  become  of 
A^olderdoes  Zonen  then  ? "  he  said  unexpectedly.  "  You 
are  forgetting,  Hubert,  about  Yolderdoes  Zonen." 

"  There  will  be  money  enough  left  for  Yolderdoes,"  re- 
plied Hubert,  "  even  if  wo  buy  flowers." 

"  Xo,  there  won't,"  persisted  Elias  vehemently.  "  You 
forget  about  the  kind  gentleman's  coming  and  arranging 


334  GOD'S  FOOL. 

that  it  all  should  be  given  to  the  poor.  Except  what  was 
wanted  for  Volderdoes  Zonen,  I  said.  And  Hendrik  said  so 
too.     There  must  always  be  enough  for  Volderdoes  "Zonen." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  queried  Hubert.  "  What  kind 
gentleman  ?  " 

But  the  question  was  too  abrupt.  For  only  answer  Elias 
started  to  his  feet,  panic-stricken  by  sudden  reproach,  and 
thinking  out  aloud,  momentarily  unconscious  of  his  broth- 
er's presence.  "  I  wasn't  to  tell  Hubert ! "  he  cried.  "  What 
have  I  done?  Johanna  !  Johanna  !  I  wanted  to  be  exactly 
like  Christ,  and  I  am  always  doing  something  wrong  !  Oh 
how  dreadful  it  is  to  be  a  fool ! " 

"  Johanna,"  said  Hubert,  shutting  the  door  and  facing 
the  old  woman,  "  what  is  this  about  the  Xotary  coming  to 
see  Elias  in  connection  with  giving  away  money  to  the 
poor?" 

"And  if  Mynheer  has  spoken,  so  miich  the  greater  pity, 
I  think,  Meneer  Hubert,"  answered  the  old  Nurse  with 
spirit.  "  I  told  him  to  let  the  matter  rest,  and  so  did  Men- 
eer Hendrik.  For  I  agree  with  Meneer  Hendrik,  and  you 
must  excuse  my  saying  so,  but  I  think  it  a  great  mistake 
that  the  poor  gentleman's  weak-headedness  and  kind-heart- 
edness should  be  abused,  and  that  he  should  be  encouraged 
to  give  aM'ay  everything  foolishly  to  Heaven  knows  whom." 

"  You  must  have  mistaken  my  meaning,"  said  Hubert 
gently,  "  or  someone  must  have  misinformed  you.  Let  us 
sit  down  and  talk  it  over." 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

BROTHERS   IX   UKITY. 

<'  It  is  true,"  said  little  Heuky  Lossell,  stepping  out  of 
the  cupboard  in  Thomas's  chambers  and  shaking  off  as 
much  dust  as  he  could,  "  I  am  satisfied.  If  Lankater  says 
it  so  decidedly,  I  am  willing  to  trust  him.  I  say,  Tommy, 
I  had  no  idea  his  matrimonial  affairs  were  in  so  bad  a  mess." 

"  I  could  not  avoid  your  overhearing  a  professional  se- 
cret, Hendrik,"  replied  Alers  pompously.  "  I  do  not  doubt 
you  will  respect  it.  The  whole  mise-en-scene  would  have 
been  superfluous,  had  you  trusted  your  own  brother-in-law 
as  much  as  you  appear  to  trust  this  henpecked  husband, 
your  colleague." 

The  last  word  might  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
powerful  director  of  the  South  Sumatra  Tobacco  Company 
was  also  a  Town-Councillor.  Hendrik  wisely  took  it  that 
way. 

"  Humph,"  he  said,  preparing  to  go.  "  I  am  trusting 
you  now,  at  any  rate, — to  your  heart's  content,  I  should 
think.  We  must  use  the  money ;  I  have  no  scruples  about 
that,  for  the  speculation  is  perfectly  safe,  and  every  penny 
can  be  paid  back  in  a  week  or  two,  if  it  fail — which  it  can't. 
For  even  were  the  dividend  not  to  be  such  an  enormous  one, 
the  shares  would  retain  their  present  value,  which,  high  as 
it  seems  to  be,  is  not  higher  than  that  of  other  successful 
tobacco-undertakings.  And  why,  in  fact,  should  all  this 
immense  fortune  of  Elias's  remain  immovable  in  the  two 
and  a  half  per  cents  ?  Is  that  to  his  advantage  ?  I  should 
say  No." 


33C  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,"  replied  Alers  quietly.  "  Let 
him  become  holder  of  numerous  tobacco-shares  for  a  fort- 
night or  so,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  you  can  buy  them 
back  from  him  at  cost-price.  That  is  a  fair  agreement  at 
this  moment,  when  everybody  believes  they  will  either  re- 
main stationary,  or  slightly  fall.  You  and  I  happen  to 
know  that  they  will  go  up  a  couple  of  hundred  per  cent. 
And  we  are  treating  Elias  quite  fairly." 

"  Quite  fairly,"  echoed  Hendrik,  pausing  by  the  door. 
"  Oh,  I  am  easy  enough  about  that.  There's  not  a  man  of 
business  but  would  say  the  contract  was  a  perfectly  fair  one. 
Have  you  seen  Linx  already  ?  " 

"  Yes.  He  will  say  nothing  definite  as  yet,  but  he 
makes  no  doubt  the  deed  can  be  prolonged." 

"  Keally  ?  So  much  the  better.  I  met  him  the  other 
day  and  was  half  inclined  to  question  him  about  it." 

"  Drop  that,  Hendrik,"  cried  Alers,  wheeling  round 
from  the  window  in  sudden  alarm.  "  I  mean,  the  less  we 
worry  a  busy  man  about  the  matter,  the  better.  He  will  let 
me  know  as  soon  as  he  has  looked  into  the  case.  You  will 
only  irritate  him  by  useless  interference." 

"  All  right,''  said  Hendrik,  "  I  sha'n't  interfere.  But  we 
must  have  the  money  in  a  day  or  two.     Good-bye." 

He  walked  back  rapidly  towards  the  Office,  in  better 
temper  with  himself  and  all  the  world  around  him  than  he 
had  been  for  many  months.  Here,  at  last,  was  a  means  of 
making  a  great  sum  of  money  fairly,  and  with  a  minimum 
of  risk — with  no  risk,  really.  The  shares  he  was  going  to 
buy  for  Elias  were  fully  worth  the  price  he  would  pay  for 
them.  The  unexpected  rise  was  a  windfall  by  which  he 
would  profit  without  in  any  way  injuring  his  brother.  A 
rise  of  three  hundred  on  one  hundred  shares  meant  a  gain 
of  three  hundred  thousand  florins.  It  would  enable  him  to 
meet  his  petroleum-losses. 

"  And  then  I  shall  speculate  no  more,"  said  Hendrik 
Lossell.     He  gave  a  great  gasp  of  relief. 


BROTHERS  IN  UNITY.  337 

On  the  Quay,  in  front  of  the  big  warehouses,  the  usual 
hurry  and  bustle  of  a  week-day  morning  were  at  their 
height.  A  couple  of  barges  lay  moored  to  the  massive  posts 
near  the  side,  half  full  already  of  neatly  soldered  cases,  on 
each  of  which  sat,  placidly  smiling,  the  tutelary  Chinaman 
of  the  house  in  his  many-coloured  robes.  A  strange  effect 
they  made,  those  carefully  marshalled  rows  of  gaily-painted 
Mandarins,  side  by  side,  tier  above  tier,  as  in  some  great 
parliament  hall  of  celestials,  vaguely  smiling  away  towards 
the  still,  dark  water,  or  upon  the  loud-voiced  labour  of  the 
barbarians  of  the  North.  You  might  have  fancied  that 
those  lines  of  cunning  little  peering  eyes  that  turned 
towards  the  dim  distance  of  limitless  river  were  gazing  with 
the  reposeful  dignity  of  despair  in  the  direction  of  the  yel- 
low shore  they  would  never  behold  again.  One  of  their 
number — blue  and  brilliant,  as  all — swung  high  in  mid-air 
from  a  crane  which  was  slowly  lowering  him  towards  his 
appointed  place  in  a  half-completed  row.  He  might  have 
been  the  speaker  of  that  silent  assembly ;  the  gaunt  machine 
was  squeaking  forth  his  protests  and  his  appeals.  A  couple 
of  dozen  of  his  equals  sat  calmly  on  a  truck  by  the  water- 
side, awaiting  a  similar  fate. 

Fresh  truckfuls  of  Chinamen  were  being  rolled  up  on 
the  rails.  There  was  a  constant  rumbling,  and  creaking 
and  clanking,  broken  by  cries  of  long-drawn  effort  and 
eager  command,  or  by  the  occasional  thud  of  a  heavy  case. 
The  master  of  all  passed  quickly  along  the  quay  and  across 
the  wide  irregular  square.  As  he  went  by,  the  men  stood 
aside  from  their  work  and  touched  their  caps.  Then  they 
gazed  after  him  for  a  moment  and  looked  from  one  to  the 
other  in  surprise,  with  a  quick  jerk  of  the  hand  over  a  hot 
face,  or  a  careless  hitch  to  a  stained  blue  apron.  And  a 
grizzled  old  man  with  what  had  once  been  a  red  beard 
stopped  hammering  at  a  cask,  and  stretched  his  bent  figure 
slowly,  and  pensively  lifted  his  eyebrows. 

For  Ilendrik  Lossell  was  whistling  a  tune.  He  walked 
22 


/ 


338  GOD'S  FOOL. 

through  the  outer  office,  aud  the  clerks  paused  in  their 
work,  as  the  warehouse-men  had  done,  and  poised  their 
pens  half-way  above  their  desks,  and  exchanged  glances. 

Hendrik  Lossell  nodded  to  a  head-clerk  without  check- 
ing his  low  whistle,  and  went  into  his  private  room  and 
slid  the  glass-door  to  behind  him. 

He  threw  himself  into  a  big  leather  arm-chair  by  the 
empty  grate — the  visitor's  arm-chair — and  drew  the  morn- 
ing's paper  towards  him,  still  whistling  the  street-jingle 
which  he  had  picked  up  on  his  road — a  merry  tune.  Every- 
body was  humming  it  at  the  time. 

And  one  of  the  first  things  he  saw  in  the  Commercial 
Intelligence  to  which  he  always  turned  instinctively  was  the 
following  telegram  from  New  York : 

"  Information  has  accidentally  leaked  out  concerning 
the  plans  of  a  great  syndicate  which  has  been  stealthily 
buying  up  all  the  petroleum  in  the  market.  The  imme- 
diate result  has  been  a  rise  of  seventy-five  cents  per  cask  in 
the  price  of  petroleum,  and  a  further  rise  may  be  confi- 
dently expected." 

Hendrik  Lossell's  lips  lengthened  themselves  out  to  a 
protracted  whistle  of  quiet  triumph.  This  was  good  ojews 
indeed.  A  moment  ago  he  had  been  rejoicing  at  the 
thought  of  finding  himself  freed  from  liabilities ;  he  now 
suddenly  saw  himself  within  touch  of  the  long-coveted 
wealth.  "  I  shall  have  a  quarter  of  a  million  in  a  few 
days,"  he  said,  under  his  breath.  "  Who  knows  ?  Half  a 
million,  if  petroleum  goes  up  another  dollar.  I  shall  buy 
out  Elias  yet,  in  spite  of  Cornelia.  I  must  get  her  that 
sapphire  bracelet  she  has  been  bothering  about.  I  might 
buy  it  to-night  when  I  go  home."  He  whistled  yet  louder, 
as  he  read  over  the  paragraph  again.  And  then  he  took  up 
a  pencil  and  made  some  rapid  computations  on  the  news- 
paper wrapper  he  had  just  torn  off.     They  were  pleasing 


BROTHERS  IN   UNITY.  339 

computations,  for  he  smiled  over  them.  He  had  not  smiled 
over  his  cipherings  for  many  a  day. 

Presently  Hubert  came  in.  "  You  are  late,"  said  Hen- 
drik,  without  looking  up.  Hubert  did  not  answer,  but  he 
went  to  the  glass-door  and  drew  the  curtain  across  it.  Hen- 
drik  dropped  his  pencil  on  the  blotting-pad  in  front  of  him 
and  lifted  a  pair  of  astonished  eyes  to  his  brother.  "  What 
now  ?  "  he  asked. 

Still  Hubert  did  not  speak.  He  came  and  stood  op- 
posite the  seat  which  the  head  of  the  firm  had  now  taken 
by  the  great  central  desk.  There  was  only  the  wide  bureau- 
ministre  between  them.  He  folded  his  arms  across  his 
chest  and  remained  watching  Hendrik's  face.  He  was 
thinking — as  he  had  been  thinking  all  the  way  down  to  the 
Office — how  best  to  begin. 

"  Don't  be  tragic,  Hubert,"  said  Hendrik  nervously. 
*'  Anything  wrong  ?  Cornelia  and  Margaret  been  quarrel- 
ling again  ?  "We  must  scold  them.  I  will  scold — ahem — 
Margaret.     And  you  can  settle  with  Cornelia." 

"  There  is  this  wrong,"  replied  Hubert,  and  his  "  trag- 
edy-tone "  was  undeniable.  "  There  is  perjury — a  broken 
vow — a  violated  trust." 

"  What  does  he  know  ?  "  flashed  across  Hendrik's  brain. 
"  All  about  the  tobacco  business?  Or  only  that  old  story  of 
the  syndicate  ?  " 

"  Explain  yourself,"  he  said  curtly.  "  If  you  can  speak 
plainly,  at  least." 

"  The  plainness  of  my  speech,"  answered  Hubert  stern- 
ly, "  will  depend  upon  the  clearness  of  your  memory.  Do 
you  remember — or  have  you  forgotten,  you,  who  forget  so 
much  ? — that  night  when  first  we  were  orphans  ?  It  was  in 
this  very  room  that  we  met,  almost  at  this  very  spot  that 
we  stood,  onjy  that  the  chair  you  are  now  occupying  was 
still  unoccupied  then.  My  God,  was  it  really  unoccupied  ? 
Or  was  I  right?" 

He  paused  for  a  moment.     Hendrik  laughed  angrily. 


340  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  You  are  as  suiierstitious  as  ever,  Hubert,"  he  said.  "  Things 
are  pardonable  in  a  boy  not  yet  out  of  his  teens  whicli  be- 
come ridiculous  in  a  middle-aged  man  of  business.  Let  us 
get  to  our  work."  He  spoke  hurriedly  and  turned  to  his 
correspondence,  but  he  knew  that  the  move  was  useless,  and 
that  an  explanation  must  come. 

"  I  am  not  superstitious,"  replied  Hubert  quietly, "  though 
it  Avere  better  to  be  superstitious  than  reckless  of  right  and 
wrong.  You  remember ;  let  that  suffice.  And  in  that  solemn 
hour — it  was  solemn — we  swore  in  the  presence  of  our  dead 
father,  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  support  the  greatness  of  the 
old  house,  and  to  shield  its  new  chief  from  hurt." 

"  And  Elias  is  very  comfortable,"  answered  Hendrik, 
"  and  has  got  better  horses  and  finer  gardens  than  you  or  I. 
And  the  business  is  prospering,  in  spite  of  its  capital  still 
lying  useless  in  the  hands  of  an  idiot.  It  must  be  a  satis- 
faction to  you  to  reflect  how  well  you  have  kept  your  prom- 
ise. I  cannot  say  the  same  for  myself,  for  I  have  always 
considered  it  a  foolish  and  unnecessarily  cumbersome 
one." 

"  You  cannot  say  the  same  for  yourself,"  retorted  Hu- 
bert, "  because  you  have  not  kept,  but  broken  it." 

Hendrik  laid  down  the  paper-knife  with  which  he  had 
been  toying,  sat  back  in  his  big  round  desk-chair,  and  waited 
for  more. 

"  How  much  of  Elias's  money  have  you  stolen  ?  "  asked 
Hubert,  still  standing  calmly  opposite  and  gazing  at  his 
brother  with  hot,  dark  eyes.  He  was  one  of  those  few  terri- 
bly passionate  men  who  remain  outwardly  calm. 

And  Hendrik's  fault  was  that  he  was  not  capable  of  deep 
passion,  only  of  petulant  ill-temper. 

"  You  are  crazy,"  he  cried  hastily.  "  The  climate  of 
China  was  too  hot  for  you.  All  Elias's  stupid  money  is 
there,  in  a  dull  heap  in  the  National  coffers.  You  can  go 
and  look  at  it,  if  you  like.  I  have  been  slaving  away  my 
whole  life  to  augment  it.     I  wish  you  had  stayed  out  yon- 


BROTHERS  IN   UNITY.  ,  341 

der,  Hubert,  instead  of  coming  back  to  make  a  fool  of  your- 
self here." 

"  I  can  understand  the  wish,"  said  Hubert.  "  I  do 
not  share  it.  My  only  regret,  and  my  deepest  self-reproach, 
is  that  I  did  not  return  at  once,  when  I  first  felt  the  im- 
pulse to  do  so.  Tell  me.  How  much  is  it,  Hendrik? 
Things  cannot  remain  like  this  !  It  were  best  for  you  to 
confess  of  your  own  free  will." 

There  was  a  quiet  menace  in  his  tone  which  frightened 
Hendrik. 

"  Are  you  going  to  call  in  the  police,"  asked  the  latter, 
"  and  give  me  in  charge  ?  " 

"  iSTo,"  said  Hubert.  "  It  is  a  matter  between  you  and 
me  and — him."  He  jerked  his  head  in  the  direction  of  a 
portrait  of  their  father,  which  he  had  suspended  over  his 
desk  by  the  window.  Hendrik  disapproved  of  such  senti- 
mentalities, but  decency  had  forbidden  him  to  object.  For 
some  of  his  father's  old  employes  Avere  mightily  pleased 
Avith  the  portrait.  Hendrik  Junior's  present  scorpions  had 
taught  them  to  think  very  kindly  of  Hendrik  Senior's  long- 
departed  whips. 

"  You  do  wisely,"  said  Hendrik  bitterly,  "  for  all  the 
police  Avould  find  to  do  here  would  be  to  arrest  you  for 
slandering  your  brother.  Tell  me  what  you  accuse  me  of, 
and  I  will  answer  you,  not  before." 

"  I  accuse  you,"  replied  Hubert,  "  of  having  taken  part 
of  Elias's  already  invested  capital,  and  used  it  for  your  own 
purposes.  To  render  such  a  step  necessary,  you  must  first 
have  appropriated  the  large  balance  of  his  uninvested  annual 
revenues.  How  great  the  deficit  is  I  cannot  say,  but  it  must 
be  very  considerable.  And  therefore,  not  knowing,  I  ask 
you  :  How  much  of  Elias's  money  have  you  stolen  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  stolen  a  penny,"  cried  Hendrik  vehemently. 
"  I  tell  you  it  is  not  true.  The  money  is  all  there ;  only 
some  of  it  is  invested  differently.  For  Heaven's  sake,  give 
up  your  grand  tragedy  airs,  and  let  us  talk  sense.     It  is  a 


34:2  ,  GOD'S  FOOL. 

shame  of  you,  Hubert,  to  accuse  me  thus  disgracefully. 
You  have  no  right  to,  and  our  father,  who  was  a  just  man, 
would  have  been  angry  with  you  for  doing  it.  You  are 
most  unjust  to  me.  I  have  thrown  away  my  whole  life  for 
the  sake  of  your  fancies,  and  now  you  treat  me  like  this !  I 
am  worried  to  death,  what  with  you,  and  Cornelia,  and 
everything ! " 

It  was  too  bad  to  find  all  this  new  annoyance  cropping 
up  just  as  his  troubles  seemed  sinking  to  rest.  The  tears  of 
aggravation  sprang  into  his  impatient  little  eyes. 

Unintentionally  he  had  chosen  the  best  way  of  disarm- 
ing his  impressionable  brother. 

"  Let  us  understand  each  other,"  said  Hubert.  "  That 
is  all  I  ask  for.  Tell  me,  to  begin  with,  why  you  brought 
the  Notary  to  Elias  and  drew  up  a  deed  which  enabled  you 
to  get  at  the  invested  capital."  He  left  the  magisterial  atti- 
tude which  he  had  retained  till  now,  and  came  and  sat  down 
by  Hendrik. 

At  this  moment  Hendrik  was  feeling  helpless,  utterly 
"  demoralized,"  anxious  only  for  rest  and  good-will.  The 
sudden  relaxation  of  the  strain  under  Avhich  he  had  been 
living  left  him  powerless,  for  the  time  being,  to  take  up  the 
struggle  again.  Everything  was  coming  right  at  last,  at 
last.  If  only  they  would  give  him  breathing-room  for  a  few 
days  more. 

Looking  straight  in  front  of  him,  down  at  the  figures  on 
the  blotting-pad,  he  hurriedly  told  his  brother  the  story  of 
the  Transvaal  syndicate,  how  Alers  had  induced  him  to 
guarantee  the  issue,  how  the  subscription  had  failed,  and 
how  he  had  been  obliged  to  take  up  the  shares.  "  Had  I 
acted  dishonestly  with  regard  to  Elias's  revenues,  as  you 
imagine,"  he  added,  "  I  should  not  have  required  to  take 
any  of  his  capital,  but,  as  it  happened,  the  balance  of  his 
half-year's  income  had  just  been  properly  invested  a  few 
weeks  earlier.  Since  then  the  sum  taken  off  has  been  gradu- 
ally paid  in  again  by  accumulation  of  interest.     As  I  told 


BROTHERS  IN   UNITY.  343 

you,  Elias's  whole  lumber  of  money  lies  there,  and  much 
good  may  it  do  both  him  and  us." 

"  It  is  all  there,"  repeated  Hubert  thoughtfully,  "  except 
eighty-four  thousand  florins,  which  are  missing. " 

"  Which  are  invested  in  Gold  Shares.  The  shares  may 
be  worth  a  fortune  any  day." 

"  Why  did  you  not  take  up  those  shares  yourself,  Hen- 
drik,  either  at  the  time,  or  afterwards  ? "" 

"  I  ?  How  can  I  ?  Look  at  the  way  in  which  Cornelia 
lives  !     Compare  it  to  your  own  !  " 

"  I  have  four  children.  Do  not  lie  to  me,  Hendrik,  not 
now.  Cornelia  wastes  what  she  can,  but  she  does  not  Avaste 
your  whole  income.  You  have  been  buying  out  Elias  as 
fast  as  you  could  buy." 

"  A  snail  could  not  go  faster,"  said  Hendrik  doggedly. 
"  Oh,  I  am  a  rich  man,  I,  and  a  happy  one.  And  now,  as  I 
have  told  you  everything,  apologise  and  leave  me  in  peace." 

"  It  is  really  everything  ?  "  queried  Hubert  anxiously. 

"  Go  to  the  devil ! '"'  screamed  Hendrik.  "  Or  rather,  go 
to  the  '  Great  Book  '  in  Amsterdam  and  find  out  for  your- 
self. Mind  you  go  to-day,  for  next  week  I  shall  probably 
steal  it  all.  You  can  reckon  out  how  much  more  there  is 
than  before  you  started  for  China.  And,  once  more,  I  wish 
you  had  stayed  there." 

Hubert  bent  forward  and  put  his  hand  on  Ilendrik's 
knee.  "  Dear  brother,"  he  said,  "  do  not  let  us  quarrel.  I 
confess  that  I  came  here  with  evil  thoughts  against  you  in 
my  heart.  1  knew  you  had  deceived  Elias  about  his  chari- 
ties. I  believed  you  had  misappropriated  his  money.  I 
wronged  you  to  a  large  extent,  and  you  must  forgive  me. 
Still  there  remains  this  business  of  the  gold-shares.  They 
are  practically  worth  nothing.  That  money  must  be  re- 
funded somehow." 

"  It  must,"  said  Hendrik.     "  Elias  would  miss  it." 

"  It  is  the  trust,  the  trust ! "  cried  Hubert  passionately. 
"  Don't  you  see  it  is  as  hard  for  me,  with  my  increasing , 


344  GOD'S  FOOL. 

family,  as  it  can  possibly  be  for  you  ?  I  do  not  deny  the 
seeming  cruelty  of  the  facts,  but  can  we  alter  them  ?  Can 
we  help  it  that  Elias  is  rich  and  weak-headed,  and  that  we 
have  the  brains  and  are  poor  ?  " 

"  Not  I,"  said  Hendrik  significantly.  "  You,  perhaps, 
had  better  not  talk  too  much  about  altering  or  helping." 

Hubert  started  back,  as  if  stung.  "  I  know  it,"  he  said 
softly.  "  Do  you  think  I  ever  forget  it  ?  And  therefore,  so 
help  me  God !  I  will  remain  faithful  to  him  against  you, 
against  myself." 

They  were  both  silent,  each  occupied  with  his  own 
gloomy  thoughts.  Then  said  Hubert :  "  But,  if  Elias  were 
well  and  strong,  that  would  bring  you  no  advantage. 
Kather  the  reverse.  You  always  forget,  Hendrik,  that  we 
are  his  step-brothers.  The  money  is  Volderdoes  money.  It 
would  always  have  been  his.  It  is  his  by  right.  We  cannot 
take  it  away  from  him.  What,  after  all,  would  you  call 
'  justice '  ?  That  we,  who  would  not  have  had  a  penny  of  it, 
had  he  been  in  his  right  mind,  should  now  kill  him,  or  take 
it  away  from  him,  because  he  is  half -insane  ?  " 

"  Had  he  been  as  other  men,"  cried  Hendrik  hotly,  "  he 
would  have  taken  his  own  course,  and  we  ours.  At  least, 
there  would  not  have  been  this  hourly  torment  of  Tantalus ! 
Who  am  I  that  I  should  be  tied  down  to  slave  away  all  my 
strength  for  him  ?  " 

"  Would  you  have  preferred  not  to  have  any  connection 
with  Volderdoes  Zonen  at  all  ?  " 

"  No.     Volderdoes  Zonen  is  ours." 

"  Volderdoes  Zonen  is  Elias.  We  are  turning  in  a  circle, 
Hendrik,  by  talking  in  this  manner.  This  money  for  the 
shares  must  be  restored.     Will  you  restore  it?  " 

"  I  can't,"  replied  Hendrik  sullenly.  "  He  has  the 
shares." 

"  If  you  cannot,"  said  Hubert  thoughtfully,  "  I  must. 
Do  you  wish  that  ?  " 

"  No." 


BROTHERS  IN   UNITY.  345 

"  There  is  no  other  alternative.  And  yet  it  seems  unfair 
to  my  wife  and  children.  Listen  to  me,  Hendrik.  You 
know  how  I  have  worked  out  in  China — life  was  expensive 
there — you  know  how  simply  we  live  here.  You  know  how 
few  shares  I  have  bought.  I  pay  a  very  large  yearly  pre- 
mium on  a  policy  of  life-insurance.  I  thought  that  was 
wiser,  especially  out  there.  But  my  wife  brought  me  sixty 
thousand  florins  as  her  marriage-portion.  The  rest  I  can 
provide.  We  will  lend  you  that  money,  Hendrik,  if  you 
really  haven't  got  it  yourself.  You  and  I  must  not  remain 
in  Elias's  debt.  I  am  sure  my  wife  will  be  willing.  AVe 
can  take  the  shares,  such  as  they  are,  and  you  must  buy 
them  back  from  us." 

Suddenly  the  whole  difference  of  their  lives  stood  out 
before  Hendrik.  Himself  and  Hubert.  Cornelia  and  Mar- 
garet. The  simple  parlour,  noisy  with  uproarious  children, 
and  his  great  reception-rooms,  dismal  with  music  and  danc- 
ing beneath  a  hundred  glaring  lights.  In  an  eager  impulse 
of  sympathy  he  held  ou1«.both  hands  to  his  brother. 

"  No,  no,"  he  said.  "  Not  that.  Sooner  than  that  I 
could  sell  you  some  of  my  shares  in  the  business,  if  Margaret 
will  have  them.  But  I  trust  it  will  not  be  necessary.  You 
must  give  me  a  few  days  to  look  the  whole  matter  over.  At 
the  end  of  that  time,  we  will  go  into  this  business  of  Elias's 
fortune  together.  It  is  true,  as  you  say,  that  it  is  his,  and 
liis  only,  and  we  cannot  do  otherwise  than  accumulate  it. 
But  circumstances  «re  hard  on  me — on  us ;  you  must  admit 
that." 

"  They  are,"  said  Hubert,  warmly  returning  the  pressure 
of  the  other's  hand.  "  Let  us  not  make  them  worse  by  dis- 
sension.    Oh,  Hendrik,  when  I  came  down  to  the  Office 

just  now,  I — I "  his  voice  faltered.     "  Do  not  let  us 

speak  of  it,"  he  went  on  hastily.  "  I  am  afraid  I  am  self- 
righteous.  The  strain  is  too  great.  We  must  end  it,  as 
you  say.  Dear  brother,  we  must  put  ourselves  out  of  the 
way  of  temptation." 


346  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  "We  cannot,"  said  Ilendrik. 

"  Yes,  we  can.  We  should  have  done  it  at  once.  I  have 
often  thought  that  out  at  Shanghai.  And  the  experiences 
of  these  last  twenty-four  hours  have  brought  home  the  con- 
viction to  me  more  irresistibly  than  ever.  We  must  remove 
all  that  is  irregular  in  our  position.  AVe  must  lodge  an  ap- 
plication for  Elias  to  be  declared  legally  insane." 

"  A  curatorship  !  "  cried  Hendrik.  In  his  utter  weari- 
ness the  idea  seemed  almost  fraught  with  relief.  The  rise 
in  petroleum  would  soon  enable  him  to  free  such  stock  of 
Elias's  as  he  had  given  in  trust.  On  that  very  account  he 
had  not  even  mentioned  the  matter.  And  the  transaction 
in  Sumatra  shares  would  help  to  buy  out  the  nominal  head 
of  the  tea-business  to  a  certain  extent.  He  must  be  content 
with  what  he  could  get.  Anything  for  peace  of  conscience, 
peace  with  Cornelia,  peace  with  Hubert.  This  harassing 
struggle  after  the  unattainable  must  end.  He  felt  his  hands 
loosening  round  the  rope,  on  Avhich  he  had  climbed  till  now 
towards  the  goal  of  his  life.  In  a„  day  or  two  he  would  be 
half-way.     He  must  be  content  with  that.     Content. 

"  A  curatorship,"  he  repeated.  "  Perhaps  it  would  be 
best.  In  that  case,  Hubert,  you  eternalize  the  status  quo. 
Neither  you  nor  I,  as  long  as  Elias  lives,  can  ever  buy  share 
of  his  again." 

"  I  know,"  replied  Hubert.  "  It  is  bad,  but  it  is  better 
than  hanging  thus  on  the  brink  of  a  moral  precipice. 
Doubtless  some  member  of  his  mother's  family  will  be  ap- 
pointed co-trustee." 

"  Let  it  be  so,"  said  Hendrik  resignedly.  "  Only  do  not 
hurry  me.  We  have  plenty  of  time.  After  all,  it  is  true 
that  he  is  crazy.  He  has  always  been  crazy.  Don't  do  any- 
thing for  the  moment.  Let  us  weigh  well  each  step  that 
we  take." 

"  These  things  are  not  done  in  a  day,"  said  Hubert, "  nor 
in  a  week.     I  must  speak  to  the  Notary  at  once." 

"  Wait,"  repeated  Hendrik,  "  wait  for  a  day  or  two.     I 


BROTHERS  IN  UNITY.  347 

agree  with  you  that  this  must  end.  We  cannot  have  such 
another  scene  as  we  have  gone  through  this  morning.  I  am 
quite  willing  to  arrange  everything.  Surely  you  approve  of 
my  having  prevented  Elias  from  throwing  all  he  possessed 
to  the  four  winds  of  charity.  Was  I  to  sell  the  business,  or 
establish  a  hospital  in  the  warehouses  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Hubert.  "  I  suppose  you  did  right. 
And  yet  I  wish  it  had  not  been  necessary  to  deceive  him  so 
cruelly.  That  proves  how  false  is  the  situation  we  have 
created  for  ourselves,  and  how  imperative  it  is  that  we  should 
escape  from  it.     At  any  cost." 

"  At  any  cost,"  said  Hendrik. 

And  once  more  they  shook  hands  on  their  agreement. 
To  Hubert  it  seemed  like  a  renewal  of  that  solemn  covenant, 
made  many  years  ago,  on  the  same  spot,  to  protect  Elias 
and  to  maintain  the  greatness  of  the  great  house  of  Voider- 
does.  He  looked  into  Hendrik's  eyes,  and  his  heart  was 
humbled  by  the  recognition  of  his  own  hardness  and  solem- 
nized by  thoughts  of  his  dead  father  and  of  the  half-brother 
to  whom  life  was  barely  alive. 

And  to  Hendrik  the  moment  brought  a  compromise 
with  his  conscience,  a  bargain  for  peace  at  half-price.  He 
was  not  ill-content.  He  smiled  back  to  Hubert.  And 
from  his  place  over  the  mantelpiece,  immovable,  placidly, 
pleasantly  humorous,  with  the  eternal  leer  of  commercial 
cunning  on  his  smug  face  and  in  his  little  slit  eyes,  the 
patron  of  the  family,  and  the  business,  and  of  all  the  great- 
ness of  the  great  house,  the  lord  of  the  tea-chests  and  the 
money-bags,  smiled  down  upon  the  two  brothers,  and  their 
concord,  and  their  righteousness,  and  their  good-will. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

BLIND   JUSTICE. 

The  "  Pups  "  were  romping,  as  it  seems  that  only  pups, 
whether  four  or  two-footed,  have  the  power  and  the  pleasure 
to  do.  There  were  four  Pups,  so  their  father  would  have  told 
you,  in  various  degrees  of  beautiful  lessness,  each  naughtier 
and  noisier  than  the  one  overhead.  And  sweeter.  No,  not 
sweeter,  when  you  came  to  remember  how  very  sweet  the 
other  was.  They  were  all  sweeter  than  each  other  in  a  per- 
fect circle  of  superlative  comparison,  delightfully  illogical, 
appreciably  true.  The  ball  of  a  parent's  affection  rolls  so 
swiftly  and  continuously  in  such  a  home-circle  as  this  that 
he  never  has  time  to  realize  how  the  solid  girdle  is  but  a  unit 
in  ceaseless  motion.     It  is  an  optical  illusion  of  the  heart. 

As  for  sweetness,  don't  let's  talk  of  it  in  connection  with 
other  people's  children.  Each  leper,  says  the  bachelor,  likes 
his  own  sores  best.  And  "  I  didn't  come  to  look  at  your 
pictures,"  thinks  the  artist,  "  unless  it  be  to  compare  them 
to  mine."  Each  parent  is  a  poet,  and  his  child  is  his  poem. 
Few  people — even  poets — care  to  read  other  people's  poetry. 
Especially  poets. 

A  truth  is  no  less  a  truth  because  stated  ungrammatically. 
On  the  contrar}^,  imj^erfect  utterance  is  of  the  very  essence 
of  truth. 

The  sweetness  of  Hubert  Lossell's  children,  therefore, 
must  be  accepted  on  the  unsupported  testimony  of  Hubert 
Lossell  alone.  If  Cornelia  be  called  as  a  witness,  I  ob- 
ject. 


BLIND  JUSTICE.  349 

The  middle-aged  man  next  door,  who  wrote  for  the 
Press — and  in  the  press — was  quite  sure  about  the  naughti- 
ness and  the  noise. 

These  Lossells  did  not  live  "  detached,"  you  see.  Not 
even  semi-detached.  They  had  selected  a  residence  in  one 
of  those  new  streets  which  have  sprung  up  of  late  years  in 
hundreds  round  all  Dutch  cities,  streets  constructed  on  a  sys- 
tem both  sociable  and  economical,  which  enables  several 
families  (for  instance)  to  combine  in  buying  the  same  copy 
of  an  evening  paper  and  to  arrange  that  its  contents  shall 
be  read  aloud  in  the  sitting-room  of  the  centre  house  with 
the  neighbours  comfortably  listening,  each  in  his  own.  The 
style  of  building  has  other  advantages.  It  renders  all  the 
talking  from  door  to  door  and  questioning  of  servant-maids 
superfluous.  When  Number  19  hears  Number  17  sneeze, 
she  need  not  even  ring  to  ask  Betje  whether  that  heartless 
dentist  still  persists  in  dragging  out  his  poor  little  delicate 
wife  niglit  after  niglit.  And,  besides,  rents  being  high,  the 
jerr3^-builder  can  build  a  better  house  for  himself.  So  that 
all  comes  right  in  the  end. 

In  no  civilized  country  does  the  jerry-builder  rule  su- 
preme as  in  this  land  of  damp.  The  Dutch  are  too  accus- 
tomed to  damp  to  be  afraid  of  it.  Its  graceful  designs, 
they  think — often  as  artistic  as  King  Frost's — improve  the 
look  of  the  very  cheap  gray  wall-paper  the  landlord  has 
provided,  and  the  wretched,  half-painted,  white  doors  are 
none  the  worse  for  a  little  Italian  curling  and  cracking. 
Damp  is  inevitable,  as  death,  and  therefore  we  may  as  well 
all  die  of  malaria  in  our  childhood.  Some  of  us  don't,  alas  ! 
— but  grow  up  rickety,  to  beget  rickety  children.  And  it  is 
so  funny  to  see  those  dear  little  frogs  come  skipping  over 
the  carpet,  or  to  discover  that  IJaby  has  eaten  all  the  pretty 
toadstools  which  grew  in  that  corner  by  the  store-cup- 
board. 

If  you  happen  to  have  a  couple  of  soiled  packs  of  cards 
lying  about,  and  a  box  or  two  of  lucifer  matches,  you  can 


350  GOD'S  FOOL. 

start  for  Holland  and  set  up  business  as  a  builder.  The 
insurance  companies  will  not  insist  on  your  using  Bryant 
and  May's.  They  can  hardly  be  over-particular,  and,  be- 
sides, the  damp  is  bound  to  take  the  fizzle  out  of  everything 
in  a  day  or  two. 

All  evils  have  their  compensations  here  below.  In  the 
lease  of  some  of  these  Dutch  houses  a  clause  has  been  intro- 
duced which  expressly  stipulates  that  there  shall  be  no 
dancing  and — no  piano.  In  Germany,  where  the  buildings 
are  massive  as  a  rule,  such  clauses  are  unknown,  and  the 
people  live  in  flats  ! 

"  All  this  may  be  very  funny,"  you  say,  "  but  it  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  subject.  The  subject,  as  I  under- 
stood it,  was  originally  Pups,  not  Kennels."  Nay,  gentle 
reader,  be  not  impatient,  like  the  much-pressed  gentleman 
next-door ;  all  of  it  is  connected,  somehow  or  other,  prop- 
ping and  propped,  even  as  the  houses  in  the  street.  And 
as  to  what  you  have  just  been  reading,  whether  you  liked  it 
or  not,  I  must  beg  to  disclaim  all  responsibility  in  connec- 
tion with  it.  It  is  all  out  of  an  article  that  unfortunate 
journalist  was  writing,  and  he  naturally  felt  sore  and  spite- 
ful on  the  house-question,  for  the  Dutch  style  of  building 
materially  affected  his  own  top  story,  besides  reducing  the 
circulation  of  his  paper  by  two-thirds.  He  had  every  reason 
to  cry  out — like  a  voice  in  a  wilderness  of  bricks — for 
thicker  walls.  He  cried  out — internally — and  the  little 
Lossells  answered,  audibly :  Yah. 

"  Yah,  yah,  yah,"  screamed  the  little  Lossells,  running  to 
and  fro,  and  kicking  their  toes  out  at  everything  kickable. 
The  third  child,  Judy — shade  of  stately  Judith  Lossell  ! — 
was  playing  at  hiding  herself — ii  la  mode  d'Autruche — by 
pressing  a  pair  of  chubby  hands  tightly  against  her  eyes 
and  calling  to  her  elder  brother  and  sister  to  look  for  her. 
From  his  throne  on  mother's  lap  Hubbie,  the  babiest  of  the 
babies,  clapped  his  hands  and  crowed — as  well  he  might, 
the  little  cock  of  the  walk. 


BLIND  JUSTICE,  351 

A  cock  has  a  fine  nose.  Ilubbie's  would  be  put  out  of 
joint  in  a  couple  of  months. 

"  AVhat  a  fine  baby  it  is,"  said  Hubert.  "  Do  you  know, 
Mag,  I  think  he  is  prettier  than  the  others  were  at  his 
age." 

Margaret  laughed.  "  You  say  that  of  them  all,"  she 
answered.     "  At  least,  you  said  it  of  Judy." 

"  But  not  of  Winifred,"  protested  Hubert  in  self- 
defence. 

Margaret  laughed  again.  "  No,  you  co^dd  hardly  have 
said  it  of  Winnie,"  she  replied.  "  Poor  Winnie  !  she  Avas 
certainly  not  a  beauty  at  her  birth.  Do  you  remember  old 
Mr.  Topham,  of  the  Consulate :  '  But,  Madam,  the  child 
is  not  really  so  ugly  as  I  was  given  to  understand '  ?  That 
was  a  pretty  speech  to  make  to  a  mother,  and  very  kindly 
meant."  She  tossed  up  Hubbie  in  her  merriment  at  the 
recollection,  and  that  young  gentleman  stretched  out  his 
hands  in  mid-air  towards  the  other  three  mites  rolling 
higgledy-piggledy  on  the  floor. 

"  But  she  has  vastly  improved,"  said  Hubert,  whom  the 
story  rendered  slightly  huffy  even  now.  "  She  is  quite  as 
nice-looking  as  the  other  little  girls  one  sees." 

"  Handsome  is  as  handsome  does,"  declared  Margaret, 
setting  down  the  struggling  baby,  who  at  once  rolled  away 
and  joined  the  rest. 

"  It  is  the  other  way  in  the  world,"  said  Hubert. 

"  Hubert,  I  wish  you  would  not  say  such  things.  You 
do  not  mean  them.  To  hear  you  talk  one  would  think  you 
did  not  believe  in  goodness  at  all." 

"  I  don't.  '  Miserable  sinners.'  Is  that  not  what  you 
say  every  Sunday?  Do  you  mean  the  Avords,  or  do  you 
not?" 

"I  mean  them,"  she  answered  solemnly.  "And  every 
Sunday  I  say :  '  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,'  and  I  mean 
those  words  too." 

"  Then  we  are  at  one,"  he  said  lightly.     The  flippancy 


352  GOD'S  FOOL. 

of  his  tone  jarred  upon  her  ear.  "  Wherever  I  turn  I  see 
miserable  sinners,  as  where  would  they  not  be  when  you 
find  them  in  church?  They  are  not  good,  my  sinners. 
Are  yours  ?  No,  I  do  not  believe  in  human  goodness.  In 
eifort,  perhaps,  as  long  as  it  is  not  too  exhausting.  But  we 
never  allow  Virtue  to  approach  too  near  us,  for  we  can't 
stand  her  treading  on  our  corns." 

"  Is  our  effort  to  succeed  single-handed  ?  "  began  Mar- 
garet. 

"  No  religion,  I  entreat  of  you !  You  know,  Mag,  I 
bargained  for  Sundays  only,  and  an  extra  day  in  Leap 
Year  ! "  He  broke  away  from  her  and  ran  to  pick  up  the 
baby,  which  had  somehow  fallen  on  one  side  and  could  not 
right  itself.  But,  a  moment  after,  he  came  back  to  her. 
"  No,"  he  said  hurriedly,  speaking  with  much  feeling,  "  I 
do  not  believe  in  goodness,  not  even  with  you  as  an  ex- 
ample. We  are  only  bad  and  worse.  And  so  we  must  not 
be  angry  with  the  worst.  I  believe  in  human  justice,  some- 
times, when  a  man  is  found  wise  and  strong  enough  to  dis- 
pense it.  Not  in  Divine  Justice.  Ah,  not  in  that.  Look 
at  Elias.  God  is  dead.  Only  the  world  has  not  got  accus- 
tomed to  the  idea  yet,  and  some  of  us — I  myself — go  on 
crying  to  Him,  and  j^erhaps  loving  Him,  as  we  do  with  our 
own  human  lost  ones.  I  believe  in  living  straight.  Straight 
on  in  the  darkness.  That  is  always  best,  and  what  else  can 
we  do  ?  And  I  believe  in  Destiny  " — "  Don't,  Jack  ! "  cried 
Margaret,  in  mingled  anguish  and  anxiety  of  soul,  to  her 
eldest,  who  was  climbing  up  to  the  lamp — "  in  blind,  in- 
exorable Fate.  Let  us  go  straight,  whatever  the  goal. 
There  is  no  goal;  there  are  no  sign-posts.  Our  feet  are 
ours.  That  is  all  we  know.  And  the  road  ?  The  road  is 
God's,  say  you.  It  is  Fate's,  say  I.  What  does  it  matter  ? 
The  end  is  the  same.  The  end  is  wickedness,  cruelty, 
injustice — theft,  murder,  destitution.  And  the  cry  of  the 
innocent  and  the  helpless  strikes  cold  against  a  smiling 
heaven." 


BLIND  JUSTICE.  353 

He  turned  and  left  her,  witliout  another  look  at  her,  or 
at  the  children,  who,  astonished  by  this  abrupt  departure, 
followed  him  out  into  the  passage,  en  troupe,  clamouring 
for  a  "  Good-night  "  from  papa. 

Margaret  rose  slowly  and  sorrowfully  to  bring  them 
back.  "  Poor  Hubert !  "  she  said  to  herself.  "  It  is  this 
business  with  Hendrik.  That  is  troubling  him  very  much. 
I  wish  we  could  have  stayed  out  at  Shanghai.  But  I  sup- 
pose it  was  right  to  come  here."  She  pi-epared  to  go  after 
her  offspring,  Avhen  a  scream  from  outside  caused  her  to 
hasten  her  steps. 

The  children  were  huddled  up  in  a  bunch  under  the  gas- 
lamp,  half-way  down  the  long,  narrow  hall  by  the  stairs. 
"Winifred — the  poor  little  creature  with  the  outlandish 
name  and  j^lain  features — was  vigorously  scolding  John 
James.  John  James  was  looking  guilty.  And  Judy  was 
howling  as  if  a  whole  Atlantic  Ocean  of  pain  and  indigna- 
tion were  tossing  in  her  tiny  breast.  She  was  vainly  en- 
deavouring to  utilize  her  two  hands — having  only  two — in 
three  places  at  once,  and  to  rub  both  her  eyes  and  the  back 
of  her  head.  And  the  discovery  of  the  difficulties  insepara- 
ble from  such  a  struggle  augmented  her  feeling  of  injury, 
and,  consequently,  the  tempest  of  sorrow  in  her  soul.  She 
Avas  only  three  years  old,  but  she  already  agreed  with  her 
father,  that  life  strikes  more  sores  than  man  has  powers  of 
healing. 

Furthermore,  John  James  had  hold  of  Hubbie  by  his 
skirts. 

Thus  Human  Order,  in  the  form  of  the  Mater  Familias, 
came  upon  them  and  arraigned  them  before  Human  Justice 
in  the  form  of  the  Mater  Familias  again. 

The  part  of  Justice,  assisted  by  delation,  was  not  an 
arduous  one.  Little  Winifred — sharp-faced,  sharp-voiced, 
sharp-witted — was  eager  to  tell  how  Jack  had  pushed  past 
Judy  in  the  chase  after  their  retreating  father,  and  had 
knocked  up  against  her  and  sent  her  flying  against  the 
2?, 


35-i  GOD'S  FOOL. 

linen-press.  "Yes,  and  he  bum-bum-bumbled  me,"  ex- 
jilaiued  Judy  between  her  howls — a  confusion  of  "  bump  " 
and  "  tumble."  Jack  looked  sorrow  and  shame-struck. 
But  he  still  clung  to  the  protesting  Ilubbie's  long-drawn 
skirts. 

It  was  too  bad.  The  little  sufferer  had  a  big  bruise  on 
her  small  head,  a  bruise  bad  enough  to  warrant  arnica,  and 
self -righteousness  and  all  the  interest  of  invalidism.  Do- 
mestic Justice  felt  that  her  task  in  this  case  was  easy. 
Judy's  head  must  be  covered  with  a  bandage  and  Jack's 
with  reproach.  How  often  had  she  not  told  him  to  be  more 
careful  with  his  poor  little  sisters !  A  great,  rough  boy, 
that  was  not  fit  to  play  with  little  girls.  It  was  the  older 
child  that  should  look  after  the  younger,  instead  of  which, 
if  they  hurt  themselves,  it  "was  almost  always  through  Jack. 
He  was  very  naughty. 

"  Am  I  not  perpetually  repeating  to  you,  Jack,  that  you 
should  be  careful  with  the  little  ones  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Mammie,"  said  Jack,  ruefully  watching  the  bath- 
ing of  Judy's  head,  Judy's  yells  had  subsided  into  a  tear- 
ful pucker  of  reproach. 

Well,  if  he  would  not  listen  to  her,  he  must  be  punished. 
He  could  have  no  sugar  in  his  porridge  to-night.  There  is 
a  right  and  wrong  in  this  world,  after  all,  whatever  Hubert's 
despairing  idealism  may  say,  and  responsible  Justice  must 
clearly  distinguish  them.  And  a  child  must  be  trained  up 
from  his  youth  in  the  way  he  should  go.  The  compromise 
of  the  parents  paves  most  men's  way  to  hell.  She  watched 
her  eldest  as  he  slowly  ate  his  unsweetened  porridge,  she 
watched  him  with  inexorable  face.  It  was  very  painful, 
most  painful  to  her  (parents  like  to  think  that,  especially 
when  they  beat  their  children),  but  it  was  unavoidable. 
"  There  is  nothing  cruel,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  in  this 
world,  except  sin." 

And  the  beauty  of  leading  these  infant  minds  in  the 
right  path  once  more  impressed  itself  uj)on  her.     She  often 


BLIND  JUSTICE.  355 

allowed  her  thoughts  to  dwell  upon  it,  as  she  sat  at  her  quiet 
needle-work.  It  was  the  joy  and  the  duty  of  her  life.  She 
would  think  also,  doubtless — prayerfully — of  the  responsi- 
bility ;  but  she  liked  to  think  of  the  beauty  best. 

And  to-night  her  thoughts  lingered  round  Elias,  that 
new-found  child,  away  in  his  lonely  home  with  his  nurse 
and  his  canaries,  and  round  the  little  one  soon  to  be  sent  to 
complete  a  circle  which  never  seemed  incomplete  till  next 
time.  She  sat  fondly  watching  the  whole  troop  of  them, 
intent  on  their  supper,  scooping  vigorously  in  their  already 
empty  bowls,  Winifred  quick,  impatient  and  neat,  Judy 
with  a  big  knot  and  a  pair  of  donkey's  ears  sticking  out  on 
the  top  of  her  head.     Jack  stopped  scooping  first. 

Supper  precedes  bed  with  most  children — alas,  that  it 
should  not  be  so  with  all !  Jack  slept  in  his  parent's  room  ; 
the  other  three  were  in  the  night-nursery  with  their  nurse. 
The  young  gentleman  found  himself  marched  off  in  dis- 
grace by  his  mother,  and  it  was  not  till  he  had  been  tucked 
in,  kissless  because  unrepentant,  that  he  opened  his  mouth 
and  spake : 

"  Mammie,  I  want  to  tell  you  something." 

»  What  is  it,  Jack  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  knock  over  Judy  on  purpose." 

"  Perhaps  not.  But  you  should  have  been  more  careful. 
I  have  often  told  you  so." 

"  No,  but  I  mean  I  really  couldn't  help  it.  It  was  Hub- 
ble. He  crawled  after  Papa.  And  he  was  quite  near  the 
stairs  already.  And  I  remembered  what  you  had  said  about 
looking  after  them.  And  I  Just  caught  him  as  he  was  going 
to  tumble.  And  I  fell,  Mammie.  I  did,  really,  'cause  I  was 
in  such  a  hurry.  He  was  on  the  stairs,  you  see.  I  mean  at  the 
top.     And  I  knocked  over  Judy,  'cause  she  got  in  the  way." 

Margaret  was  silent. 

"  And  I  hurt  myself,"  said  Jack  meekly.     "  A  little." 

He  pulled  up  his  nightgown  and  discovered  a  blue  bruise 
over  his  knee. 


356  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  AVhy  did  you  not  say  so  at  once  ?  "  asked  his  mother, 
a  little  crossly. 

"  'Cause  I  didn't  want  to  bother  about  "Winnie." 

As  Margaret  went  slowly  downstairs,  she  pondered  the 
beauty  and  the  responsibility  of  it  all.  But  the  responsi- 
bility lay  topmost  in  her  mind. 

She  wondered  whether  she  would  find  her  husband  wait- 
ing for  her  in  the  drawing-room.  It  was  his  almost  invari- 
able custom  to  com.e  in  to  tea  after  the  children  had  been 
stowed  away  for  the  day.  They  would  often  read  together 
for  an  hour  or  so,  alternately  choosing  the  book.  Their 
choice  was  very  dissimilar.  Hubert  had  last  pitched  on 
Bulwer's  "  Eugene  Aram,"  and  now  they  were  reading  Mar- 
garet's selection  :  "  Kingsley's  Life  and  Letters." 

Hubert  was  a  stay-at-home,  solitary  man.  He  abhorred 
all  festive  gatherings  and  theatrical  or  musical  entertain- 
ments. He  abhorred  even  the  sociable  privacy  of  a  club. 
He  was  always  uncomfortable  under  amusement  of  any 
kind. 

He  was  waiting  for  her  now,  calmly,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  with  the  book  open  before  him.  She  saw  that 
he  wished  her  to  ignore  his  outburst,  and  so  she  went  over 
quietly  to  her  tea-table  and  sat  down. 

They  had  left  off  at  Chapter  XI.  the  evening  before. 
He  read  on  tranquilly  in  the  hush  of  the  softly  lighted 
room  to  the  occasional  click  of  her  movements  among  the 
cups  and  saucers. 

And  presently  he  came  to  that  bit  about  "  the  taking 
away  of  human  life "  in  one  of  the  letters  to  Thomas 
Cooper,  the  Chartist :  "  After  much  thought,  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  you  cannot  take  away  hiwian  life. 
That  animal  life  is  all  you  take  away ;  and  that  very  often 
the  best  thing  you  can  do  for  a  poor  creature  is  to  put  him 
out  of  this  world,  saying,  '  You  are  evidently  unable  to  get 
on  here.     We  render  you  back  into  God's  hands  that  He 


BLIND  JUSTICE.  357 

may  judge  you,  and  set  you  to  work  again  somewhere  else, 
giving  you  a  fresh  chance  as  you  have  spoilt  this  one.' " 

He  laid  down  the  book.  The  hero  it  describes  with  his 
passionate,  life-absorbing,  life-expanding  love  of  earth  and 
heaven,  of  God  and  man,  of  body  and  soul,  he  could  not 
rightly  appreciate,  as  all  will  understand  who  knew  them 
both.  His  was  a  very  different  view  of  existence.  He  had 
read  for  his  wife's  pleasure,  untouched  in  his  heart. 

"  That  is  strikingly  put,"  he  said  thoughtfully,  "  very 
strikingly  put." 

And  then  before  Margaret  could  make  any  remark,  he 
took  up  the  volume  again  and  read  on. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  Hubert,"  she  said,  interruj)ting  him. 
"  AVill  you  have  another  cup  of  tea  ?  " 


CHAPTER  XLIIL 

DOOMED. 

"  It  will  all  come  right  in  a  day  or  two,"  Hendrik  Los- 
sell  repeated  to  himself,  as  he  walked  home  from  the  Office. 
He,  too,  had  a  home  to  return  to  of  evenings.  Most  of  us 
fortunately  have.  But  few  of  us  have  as  handsome  and  as 
well-appointed  and  well-ordered  and  well-governed  a  home 
as  Hendrik  Lossell  had. 

A  home  like  that  gives  a  man  a  social  position  in  the 
city  of  his  in-dwelling.  The  people  who  enter  it  respect 
the  owner,  and  the  people  who  pass  by  it,  unable  to  enter, 
respect  the  owner  even  more.  Cornelia  had  refurnished 
the  greater  part  of  it,  and  the  tradesmen  of  Koopstad  had 
understood  that  her  husband  ought  to  represent  them  in 
the  Town  Council.  And,  when  the  new  settees  and  "  cau- 
seuses  "  were  spread  out  in  all  their  silken  glory,  Cornelia 
invited  her  friends  and  her  friends'  friends  to  come  and 
sit  on  them,  and  they  came,  and  told  each  other  that 
"  Cornelia  is  my  cousin,  you  know,"  and  that  a  woman  with 
her  complexion  should  never  have  chosen  cucumber-green, 
and  that,  furthermore,  Hendrik  Lossell  ought  to  be  a  good 
anti-Radical  candidate  for  the  Town  Council.  They  would 
certainly  not  have  told  each  other  this  last  item  had  Cor- 
nelia not  cunningly  jn'ompted  them,  for  many  of  them  had 
only  the  very  vaguest  idea  what  the  Town  Council  was. 
But  their  husbands  and  fathers  knew  well  enough,  and 
these  gentlemen  told  each  other — in  Cornelia's  new  Turkish 
"  fumoir,"   over  her    husband's   "  company "   cigars — that 


DOOMED.  359 

Hendrik  Lossell  ought  to  represent  Law  and  Order — orderly 
Progress  and  lawful  Innovation — in  the  Town  Council  of 
Koopstad.  And  so  Hendrik  presented  himself  as  a  candi- 
date. He  told  the  electors  that,  if  he  was  not  elected  this 
time,  he  would  re-present  himself.  If  he  was  elected,  he 
would  represent  Koopstad.  But  that  was  one  of  those 
innocent  illusions  which  nobody  believed  in.  He  was 
elected  ;  Cornelia  took  to  her  bed  and  rested  for  four  days 
after  his  election,  then  she  had  to  get  up  to  attend  a  ball ; 
and  he  made  a  very  good  Town  Councillor,  young  as  he 
was,  and  he  felt  very  "  Eight  Worshipful "  indeed,  and 
nobody  could  ever  prove  that  he  stole  anything  from  any- 
body. 

"  It  will  come  all  right,"  repeated  the  Town  Councillor, 
as  he  turned  his  steps  in  the  direction  of  home.  That  was 
his  one  engrossing  thought.  It  would  all  come  right  if 
only  they  would  give  him  time.  It  was  most  provoking, 
undoubtedly,  that  Hubert  should  have  chosen  this  very  day 
to  cut  up  unpleasant  and  spoil  his  brother's  good  temjier. 
Just  as  the  tide — the  petroleum  tide — seemed  turning  with 
a  sudden  sweep  in  the  right  direction.  Just  as  the  much 
tormented  one  had  obtained  the  certainty  that  the  trades- 
winds  of  tobacco  were  wafting  him  onwards  towards  his 
long-coveted  goal.  It  was  bad,  but  it  might  have  been  so 
much  worse.  There  is  always  a  source  of  persistent  satis- 
faction for  the  human  heart  in  that  consideration,  if  only 
the  "  worseness,"  be  very  near  and  very  plain.  As  it  was. 
For  ever  since  Hubert's  return,  Hendrik  had  been  dreading 
an  explanation.  He  had  shut  Johanna's  lips  by  reminding 
her  how  the  more  generous,  more  impulsive  brother  had 
always  insisted  upon  every  gratification  of  the  "  innocent's  " 
whims,  so  that  it  was  very  probable  he  would  consent  to 
Elias's  self-inipoverisliment,  if  Elias  declared  he  could  never 
be  happy,  unless  poor.  Johanna  in  no  way  desired  to  see 
her  darling  brouglit  to  destitution.  "  It  is  true,"  she  said 
hesitatingly,  "  that  Meneer  Hubert  is  always  very  indulgent 


360  GOD'S  FOOL. 

to  Myn  Heer."  "  He  is  too  indulgent,"  answered  Hendrik. 
"  He  can  deny  him  nothing.  It  is  his  way  of  making  atone- 
ment for — for  his  misfortune."  The  old  nurse  felt  that 
there  was  much  truth  in  this.  They  were  very  comfortable, 
as  it  was ;  Elias  could  obtain  everything  he  required  or 
desired,  and  his  money  was  safe  in  the  hands  of  a  good  man 
of  business,  who  would  take  excellent  care  of  it,  being  one 
of  his  heirs.  Johanna  had  no  reason,  and  no  right,  to  mo- 
lest Hubert  on  the  subject.  She  liked  neither  of  the 
brothers.  She  would  have  preferred  the  younger  twin ;  only 
she  could  never  quite  make  up  her  mind  to  forget  that  early 
flower-pot.  She  pictured  it  to  herself :  the  crash,  and  her 
beautiful  pet  on  the  ground,  and  the  well-known  balcony, 
and  Hubbie  leaning  over  it,  with  the  vague  smile  of  won- 
der and  am^^sement  on  his  childish  face.     He  had  it  still. 

As  for  Elias,  it  was  not  difficult  to  make  him  under- 
stand that  he  must  not  bother  Hubert  about  "  the  Charity." 
It  sufficed  to  tell  him  that  Hubert  would  be  unhappy  if  he 
knew  about  it.  And  so  Elias  remembered.  Until  he  for- 
got. He  would  have  forgotten  sooner  but  that  he  v>^as  less 
occupied  of  late  with  the  poor  people  in  his  Homes.  The 
arrival  of  his  brother  with  a  wife  and  children,  and  all  the 
new  avenues  of  interest  which  that  event  inevitably  forced 
open  in  his  blocked  brain,  gave  him  more  food  for  thought 
than  he  could  properly  digest.  He  did  not  lose  sight  (if 
that  expression  be  permissible)  of  his  little  group  of  pauper 
friends,  but  they  sank  into  the  background  in  those  mo- 
ments when  Margaret  and  her  children  absorbed  his  atten- 
tion. No  wonder  they  absorbed  it.  Margaret  was  a  revela- 
tion to  Elias. 

"  I  wish  the  stupid  fellow  could  have  kept  silence  a  week 
longer,"  said  Hendrik  to  himself.  Of  course  he  wished 
that.  He  wished  that  Hubert  had  remained  out  at  Shang- 
hai, and  had  done  all  he  could  to  keep  him  there.  Yet  not 
because  of  any  definite  accusation  he  brought  against  him- 
self as  if  he  had  done  the  blind  man  positive  wrong.     He 


DOOMED.  361 

did  not  think  so.  As  for  the  South  African  imbroglio,  that 
had  been  unintentional,  and  really,  after  all,  what  did  it 
matter  to  Elias  how  some  of  his  vast  wealth  was  invested  ? 
As  for  the  using  of  some  of  that  wealth  in  the  form  of  se- 
curity— only  security,  mind  you — well !  That  was  business. 
Elias  was  none  the  poorer  because  his  stock  lay  at  a  money- 
lender's. If  Hubert  had  only  been  more  reasonable  and 
less  romantic,  a  better  man  of  business,  in  a  word,  the  twin- 
brothers  could  have  worked  together  and  built  u])  their  own 
fortune  instead  of  quarrelling  and  distrusting  each  other 
and  seeking  for  allies,  the  one  in  an  idiot,  the  other  in  a 
knave.  From  day  to  day  Hendrik  had  exjjected  Hubert's 
discovery,  but  also  from  day  to  day  he  had  expected  that  a 
rise  in  his  "  ventures "  would  enable  him  to  contest  it. 
"Missing  money?  There  is  no  money  missing!"  And 
now,  after  all,  it  had  come  a  fortnight  too  soon. 

Yet  how  much  worse  matters  would  have  looked  had  it 
come  yesterday  !  There  was  inexpressible  comfort  in  that. 
Never  would  Hendrik  have  believed  that  he  could  have  re- 
ceived the  proposal  to  demand  a  curatorship  with  such  rela- 
tive equanimity  as  he  was  now  able  to  show.  Yesterday 
only  the  thought  would  have  maddened  him,  driven  him  to 
some  deed  of  desperation,  for  Hubert's  plan,  if  it  succeeded, 
destroyed  all  the  hopes  of  Hendrik's  life  at  a  blow.  But 
now  he  only  felt  that  the  nearness  of  the  approaching  end 
must  stimulate  him  to  fiercer  effort.  He  must  "  borrow " 
from  Elias,  by  Alors's  help,  twice  as  much  money  as  he  had 
originally  intended.  It  was  merely  borrowing  on  perfect 
security.  He  would  pay  Elias  four  per  cent,  for  the  loan. 
Yes,  that  would  be  best,  and  fairest.  His  face  brightened 
again  wonderfully.  Petroleum  was  going  up.  And  the 
South  Sumatra  Company  was  in  a  splendid  condition.  It 
was  on  the  point — most  undoubtedly — of  paying  a  dividend 
of  fifty-five  per  cent.  The  opportunity  was  an  altogether 
unusual  one.     He  must  take  double,  treble  the  amount. 

And  he  would  pay  interest  for  a  week's  loan  at  the  rate 


3G2  GOD'S  FOOL, 

of  four  and  a  half  per  cent.,  a  high  rate,  when  you  consid- 
ered how  exceptional  the  security  was. 

And  when  Hubert  came — as  he  was  coming — with  his 
insulting  doubts  and  fears,  and  brought  the  Notary  and  the 
doctors  and  the  family  council  and  the  magistrates  to  con- 
sult about  the  administration  of  the  jiroperty  of  the  richest 
man  in  Koopstad,  then  Hendrik  would  face  him  and  say 
calmly  :  "  A  curatorship  ?  Why  not  ?  Yes,  I  think  it  would 
be  better,  for  the  poor  creature  is  of  course  utterly  incom- 
petent, and  I  shall  be  glad  of  any  arrangement  by  which  the 
responsibility  is  divided.  Practically  I  have  acted  as  sole 
trustee  ever  since  my  father's  death,  gentlemen.  You  will 
find,  Hubert,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  yearly  expendi- 
ture we  fixed  on,  and  a  certain  sum  which  has  been  annual- 
ly devoted  to  charity  of  late  by  the  owner's  especial  desire, 
all  the  revenues  have  been  duly  capitalized  at  regular  inter- 
vals of  three  months." 

And  then  he  would  add  : 

"  Before  the  final  settlement  be  come  to,  I  should  wish 
to  suggest  that  my  brother  and  I  purchase,  at  the  proper 
valuation,  as  large  a  share  in  the  business  as  each  of  us  is 
able  or  willing  to  take." 

And  then,  when  Hubert  was  silent : 

"  I  will  take "    How  much  ? 

There  lay  the  rub.  The  answer  would  depend  on  his 
gains  in  the  next  few  days.  And  to  gain  much  one  must 
risk  more.  Fortunately  he  now  had  the  opportunity.  Hu- 
bert was  pressing  him  forward.  He  must  gain  immensely, 
risk  immensely,  well,  not  "  risk."  There  was  no  real  risk, 
since  he  had  heard  Lankater  that  morning,  from  Thomas's 
cupboard. 

He  must  be  able  to  say : 

"  I  will  take  all." 

And  then  would  come  rest  at  last.  Blessed,  peaceful 
rest.     No  more  friction,  no  more  anxiety,  no  more  intrigue 


DOOMED.  363 

and  untruth.  As  for  the  money,  he  did  not  want  the 
money.  There  was  far  too  much  of  it  ah'eady.  Hubert's 
children — and  it  looked  as  if  there  were  going  to  be  a  whole 
menagerie  of  them — would  have  money  enough  in  any  case, 
without  a  big  inheritance  from  their  uncle  Hendrik.  But 
at  last  he  would  assume  his  right  position  in  Koopstad  as 
head  of  the  great  house  of  Volderdoes.  And  Hubert  would 
be  nowhere  in  comparison.  In  time  he  might  become 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  as  old  Elias  had 
been.     His  heart  swelled  with  triumph  merely  at  the  hope. 

And  Cornelia  might  do  what  she  liked  henceforth. 
Live  as  she  wished  to,  spend  what  she  thought  fit.  That, 
more  than  anything,  would  contribute  to  the  peace  he  Avas 
longing  for.  He  had  always  had  a  very  friendly  feeling  for 
Cornelia.  She  was  not  half  bad,  if  you  only  allowed  her 
to  have  her  own  way.  There  would  be  no  further  reason 
now,  once  his  end  was  obtained,  for  thwarting  her. 

No,  the  sooner  he  made  up  with  Cornelia  the  better. 
He  would  look  in  at  the  jeweller's  at  once  and  get  her  that 
bracelet. 

He  turned  down  a  side-street,  towards  the  busy  part  of 
the  town,  where  the  big  shops  are.  He  walked  with  brisk, 
elastic  step  along  the  rough  little  yellow  brick  pavement. 
The  removal  of  the  Aveight  of  suspense  and  discomfort  from 
his  shoulders  made  him  feel  ten  years  younger  already. 
Not  ten  years  younger  than  he  was,  but  ten  years  younger 
than  he  had  felt.  He  was  sometimes  surprised  to  realize 
hoAv  young  he  still  was  in  years.  He  had  always  felt  much 
older  than  Hubert. 

As  he  went  along  the  street,  almost  everyone  saluted 
him  in  infinitely  varied  angles  of  deference.  The  people 
who  Avere  not  entitled  to  take  oS  their  hats  to  the  ToAvn 
Councillor,  pretended  to  look  as  if  they  would  have  been 
able  to  do  so,  had  they  seen  him. 

He  went  into  the  jeweller's  and  got  Cornelia's  coveted 
bracelet.     He  could  not  help  pulling  a  face  over  the  price, 


364  GOD'S  FOOL. 

but  he  said  nothing.  As  he  was  leaving  the  shop,  witli  the 
treasure  securely  hidden  in  an  inner  pocket  (even  in  that 
good  old-fashioned  city,  where  thieves  punishable  by  law 
are  almost  unknown),  he  noticed  his  own  carriage  in  the 
distance  running  away  towards  home  as  fast  as  its  pair  of 
thoroughbreds  could  make  it.  He  recognised  Chris,  his 
coachman,  on  the  box.  Cornelia  had  evidently  been  out 
late,  probably  shopping.  He  frowned,  in  spite  of  all  his 
bright  resolves  to  restore  the  harmony  of  his  existence,  in 
spite  of  the  peace-ofEering,  lying  in  a  lump  against  his 
breast. 

For,  ever  since  their  last  "explanation,"  Cornelia,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  had  made  herself  very  disagreeable.  It 
was  as  if  she  had  set  herself  to  show  her  husband  that  she 
intended  to  keep  her  word,  and  reward  his  lack  of  confi- 
dence by  spending  as  much  as  she  chose.  She  was  con- 
stantly parading  her  expenditure  before  him  in  a  quiet,  un- 
ostentatious, peculiarly  aggravating  manner.  Costly  toys 
and  trifles  appeared  here  and  there  on  tables  and  whatnots, 
and  the  lady's  toilet  became,  not  richer — Cornelia  knew 
better — but  even  more  frequently  varied  than  before.  She 
was  making  debts,  intentionally.  She  was  keeping  her 
word  to  the  effect  that  she  would  keep  her  word  no  longer 
than  necessary.  To  the  man  of  business  in  a  city  of  busi- 
ness men,  this  idea,  in  all  its  limitless  uncertainty,  was  in- 
cessantly harassing.  He  sought  some  small  comfort  in  the 
fact  that  even  her  indiscretions  had  their  discreetness. 
They  were  studied  indiscretions.  She  would  always  remain 
a  good  housewife,  a  woman  with  a  cool  head  and  a  firm 
hold  on  herself.  She  had  not  bought  the  bracelet,  for 
instance,  much  as  she  wanted  it. 

He  could  understand  and  make  allowance  for  her  an- 
noyance to  a  certain  extent.  She  had  reasoned  it  out  to 
him  so  clearly,  and,  undeniably,  there  was  something  in  it. 
Perhaps  he  had  treated  her  unkindly  sometimes,  and  un- 
justly.   He  could  not  help  himself.    Hitherto  circumstances 


DOOMED.  365 

had  been  very  much  against  him.  Destiny  ?  "What  non- 
sense Hubert  talked  about  Destiny !  A  man's  destiny  is 
ahnost  always  to  be  miserable,  and  his  mission  is  to  over- 
come it.  With  all  the  clamorous  weakness  of  his  fretf ulness 
he  rebelled  against  Fate. 

Henceforth,  he  must  make  larger  allowance  for  Corne- 
lia's likes  and  dislikes.  He  smiled  over  the  word  "  allow- 
ance," as  it  came  up  in  his  mind  ;  it  seemed  such  a  remark- 
ably suitable  one.  And,  an  hour  later,  as  he  passed  the 
open  dining-room  door,  with  the  costly  parcel  in  his  hand, 
he  stopped  suddenly,  full  of  this  new  impulse  of  kindliness, 
and  slipped  into  the  room  and  popped  his  present  under  her 
napkin  on  the  waiting  dinner-table,  as  if  he  were  a  school- 
boy or  a  bashful  lover,  or  anything  else  but  Cornelia  Los- 
sell's  lord. 

He  went  into  the  drawing-room  then,  empty-handed. 
Cornelia  was  standing  by  the  window,  intently  scrutinizing 
a  little  ivory  statuette.  She  continued  looking  at  it  for  a 
second  or  two,  after  he  was  well  within  the  door,  and  then 
she  gently  put  it  doAvn  on  an  etagere  by  her  side.  He  saw, 
at  a  glance,  that  the  little  doll  was  a  new  acquisition,  pro- 
cured, probably,  from  the  Jew  antiquary  near  the  Market 
Place,  who  never  has  anything  in  his  shop  that  is  not  valu- 
able, and  never  sells  anything  till  he  has  made  it  consider- 
ably more  valuable  still — to  the  purchaser.  Hendrik's  first 
sensation  was  one  of  good-humoured  surprise  at  her  child- 
ishness. How  could  a  woman  of  Cornelia's  strength  of 
mind  be  so  childish  ?  Ho  forgot  that  every  woman — even 
though  she  be  a  Lucretia  Borgia,  or  a  Lucretia,  wife  of  Col- 
latinus — has  this  element  in  her,  the  cat-like  instinct  of 
teasing.  Then  he  cast  a  side-glance  at  the  figure.  It  was 
a  Cupid.  A  Cupid,  of  all  creatures,  on  such  an  errand 
as  this !  He  accepted  the  circumstance  as  an  omen  of 
good. 

"  It  is  much  warmer  than  it  has  been,"  said  Cornelia. 

"  Spring,"   answered    Ilendrik.     He  almost  wished  he 


366  GOD'S  FOOL. 

had  brouglit  the  bracelet  with  him  at  once.  It  woukl  have 
been  much  more  reasonable. 

"  I  see  the  new  '  Greffier '  *  and  his  wife  have  called," 
said  Cornelia. 

"  They  lose  no  time,"  replied  Ilendrik. 

"  Few  people  do  wliere  we  are  concerned,"  said  Cornelia, 
with  subdued  satisfaction. 

Hendrik  did  not  answer.  The  fact  was  true.  He  was 
very  glad  it  was  true. 

"  That  comes  of  entertaining  as  we  do,"  added  Cor- 
nelia. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hendrik  meekly.  And  then  they  went  in 
to  dinner. 

He  felt  uncomfortable  and  foolish  as  he  took  his  seat. 
After  all,  Cornelia  was  not  a  woman  to  be  tenderly  playful 
with.  She  would  probably  smother  her  appreciation  of  the 
present  in  contempt  of  the  harmless  little  joke.  And  ho 
had  forgotten  that  the  man  would  be  there,  watching  them 
immovably  from  the  side-board  with  calmly  contemplative 
eyes. 

Cornelia  drew  her  napkin  towards  her,  and,  as  she  did 
so,  the  parcel  within  rolled  away,  with  a  bump,  across  the 
floor.  This  was  the  first  misfortune,  Hendrik  felt  with  a 
guilty  start.  The  butler  had  to  go  and  pick  it  up  and  hand 
it  to  his  mistress.  She  looked  inquiringly,  coldly,  across  at 
her  husband.  Hendrik  grew  hot,  and  blushed  a  childish 
blush  over  his  sallow  complexion. 

"  Attendons  qu'il  soit  parti,"  said  Cornelia.  And  they 
commenced  eating  their  soup  in  silence  accordingly.  But 
half-way  in  the  process  she  laid  down  her  spoon.  "  Au  fond, 
pourquoi  ? "  she  said.  And  she  took  up  the  parcel  from 
beside  her  plate,  and  opened  it,  and  peeped  inside.  Mulder 
also  attempted,  discreetly,  to  peep  with  her.  But  she  was 
too  quick  for  him. 

*  A  legal  functionary. 


DOOMED.  SG7 

She  put  back  the  little  case  on  the  table  without  a  word. 
Hendrik  sat  watching  her  anxiously.  It  was  her  turn  now, 
he  noticed,  to  flush.  She  sat  with  eyes  downcast  upon  her 
folded  hands.     He  could  not  see  her  expression. 

When  the  servant  had  departed  with  the  soup-tureen,  she 
got  up  slowly  and  came  round  to  where  her  husband  sat, 
and  passed  behind  him  and  carefully  locked  the  door.  For 
such  was  the  nature  of  the  woman. 

And  then  she  came  back  to  him  and  knelt  down  beside 
his  chair.  She  forgot  for  the  moment  that  it  is  not  wise  to 
kneel  down  beside  your  husband,  when  you  are  older  than 
he  is  and  majestic  and  have  a  Eoman  nose.  She  threw  her 
arm  round  his  neck,  and  he,  looking  suddenly  into  her  face, 
a  little  beneath  the  level  of  his  own,  saw,  to  his  amazement, 
that  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

"  Hendrik,"  she  said,  "  you  are  the  better  one  of  us  two. 
"We  both  have  very  bad  tempers,  but,  at  least,  you  sometimes 
conquer  yours." 

After  that,  Hendrik's  peace  of  mind  was  not  even  seri- 
ously disturbed  by  a  brief  note  from  his  brother  Hubert 
wdiich  they  brought  him  just  as  he  and  Cornelia  rose  from 
table : 

"  Dear  H.  :  I  have  been  thinking  about  our  talk  of  this 
morning,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  we  had  better  not  put 
off  longer  than  necessary.  The  preliminaries  take  so  long 
as  it  is.  I  shall  go  and  see  Dr.  Pillenaar  to-morrow  before 
coming  to  the  Office  and  talk  the  whole  matter  over  with 
him.— H." 

Hubert  had  rushed  away  from  his  outburst  to  Margaret 
to  send  off  this  note.  Xo  use  hesitating,  postponing,  listen- 
ing to  Hendrik's  "  Presently  "  and  "  After  a  while."  He 
felt  that,  before  they  met  again,  he  must  have  gone  too  far 
to  recede. 


368 


GOD'S  FOOL. 


Hendrik  slowly  folded  the  paper  very  small  and  pushed 
it  deep  down  into  his  waistcoat-pocket.  He  did  not  object 
to  it  as  much  as  he  himself  might  have  feared.  One  sentence 
of  it  even  pleasantly  repeated  the  burden  of  his  own  thoughts. 
"  The  preliminaries  take  so  long  as  it  is."  That  was  true. 
"  Poor  Hubert,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  AVhat  a  fool  he  is  ! 
One  of  the  well-meaning  fools  that  do  half  the  mischief  in 
the  world.  The  downright  idiots,  like  Elias,  are  far  more 
harmless." 

"  Let  us  have  tea  in  your  room,"  said  Cornelia.  "  I 
shall  say  '  not  at  home.'     Besides,  it  is  an  Opera  night." 

"  I  thought  you  were  going,"  said  Hendrik,  pausing  in 
the  hall.  "  I  will  go  with  you,  if  you  like."  He  cast  a 
rapid  glance  over  his  wife's  dress.  He  remembered  that  this 
was  a  gala  night. 

"  I  have  a  slight  headache,"  replied  Cornelia,  too  proud 
to  acknowledge  her  wish  to  please  him.  And  she  poured 
out  tea  for  him,  and  he  established  himself  comfortably  in 
his  big  arm-chair,  and,  half  timidly,  put  on  his  neat  little 
black  slippers.  Cornelia  detested  slippers,  and  slipshod  ways 
in  general.     And  he  was  comfortable. 

Then,  presently,  of  her  own  free  will,  she  spoke  to  him 
of  the  debts  she  had  been  making.  She  confessed  to  them, 
and  repented  of  them.  In  fact,  there  was  a  little  scene  of 
penitence — not  a  scene  in  that  sense  in  which  the  emotional 
can  alone  enjoy  the  word,  but  an  interchange  of  a  few  cool 
words  of  explanation  and  calm  proposals  of  amendment. 
There  would  be  no  more  teasing,  and  no  more  misunder- 
standings. "  And  there  would  be  no  more  parsimony,"  said 
Hendrik,  very  much  softened.  "I  hope  that  my  increasing 
prosperity  will  soon  render  all  the  old  scraping  and  saving 
superfluous."  And  together  they  talked  very  quietly  of 
plans  for  the  future,  that  music-room,  which  Cornelia  had 
always  wanted  built  out,  a  couple  of  more  horses  in  the 
stables — there  was  even  a  hint  of  a  place  in  the  country. 
Hendrik  did  not  care  for  luxury  as  sensual  gratification, 


DOOMED.  369 

but  he  cared  that  his  kixnry  should  be  seen.  If  once  the 
motive  for  economy  was  gone,  he  would  wish  as  eagerly  as 
Cornelia  to  have  the  finest  establishment  in  the  whole  city. 
Cornelia  was  delighted  to  discover  how  naturally  giving  up 
your  own  will  may  lead  to  having  your  own  way.  And 
Hendrik  was  very  comfortable.  Once  only  he  asked  whether 
the  evening  paper  from  Amsterdam  had  not  come  by  the 
eight  o'clock  post.  He  was  vexed  at  its  not  coming ;  it  con- 
tained the  Stock-Exchange  Intelligence  of  the  day.  The  ten 
o'clock  post — the  last — would  bring  it. 

The  ten  o'clock  did.  He  leisurely  unfolded  the  news- 
paper and  leant  back  in  his  chair  to  read  it.  Cornelia  was 
occupied  with  a  letter  from  an  acquaintance  wintering  on 
the  Riviera. 

In  the  commercial  news  Hendrik  happed  upon  a  short 
paragraph,  three  lines  at  the  most. 

"  The  premature  exjiosure  of  its  j^lans  has  resulted  in 
the  complete  collapse  of  the  proposed  petroleum  trust. 
Prices  have  gone  down  a  dollar  to  1.25  in  consequence.  A 
further  fall  is  expected." 

He  started  up  with  a  cry  as  of  an  animal  in  pain,  and 
rushed  to  the  bell,  which  he  rang  violently.  Decidedly, 
Hendrik  Lossell  was  not  of  that  material  of  which  success- 
ful speculators  are  made. 

"  Good  Heavens,  what  is  the  matter?"  cried  Cornelia, 
starting  up  also  and  droj^ping  her  letter.  She  was  truly 
alarmed  by  the  tone  of  his  voice. 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  he  answered  hurriedly.  "  Business. 
Business.  Tell  Mulder  to  get  me  a  cab.  'No,  I  shall  run 
down  and  meet  the  tram." 

He  passed  out  into  tlic  hall.     She  followed  after  him. 

"  W'liere  are  you  going  at  this  hour,  Hendrik  ? "  she 
said.  "  Can  it  not  wait  till  to-morrow  ?  Do  you  not  think 
it  had  better  wait  till  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  No,  no,"  he  answered,  with  a  quick  glance  at  the  serv- 
ant, who  stood  waiting  in  obedience  to  his  master's  call. 
24 


370  GOD'S  FOOL, 

"  No,  it  is  nothing."  lie  drew  her  back  into  the  room.  "  It 
is  a  legal  question,"  he  said.  "  I  am  only  going  to  run 
down  to  your  brother  to  ask  his  opinion  as  a  lawyer.  I 
shall  sleep  all  the  better  for  knowing  what  he  thinks." 

Again  she  followed  him,  as  he  made  for  the  hall-door. 

"  Thomas  Avill  probably  be  at  the  Club,"  she  cried. 

"  Don't  wait  up  for  me,"  was  his  only  answer  as  he 
hurried  away. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

ALAS,    rOOR   HUBERT  ! 

Next  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  Hubert  Lossell  was  in- 
troduced into  Doctor  Pillenaar's  library. 

The  old  gentleman — he  must  have  been  very  near  eighty- 
five  at  the  time ;  it  can  hardly  be  more  than  seven  years 
since  I  heard  of  his  death — the  old  gentleman  was  sitting 
in  the  bay-window  of  his  room,  his  high-backed  oak  chair 
so  placed  up  against  the  dark  crimson  curtain,  by  the  side 
of  a  stand  full  of  early  flowers,  that  a  broad  beam  of  pale 
sunlight,  which  lay  motionless  across  the  brilliant  hyacinths 
and  tulips  and  the  delicate  overhanging  creepers,  should 
also  rest  on  the  tall,  reposeful  frame  in  its  faded  dressing- 
gown  and  on  the  tranquil  face  with  its  sparkle  of  silver 
beard.  A  big  folio  waited  by  the  doctor's  side,  but  he  evi- 
dently preferred,  for  tlie  moment,  at  any  rate,  the  warmth 
of  nature  to  the  light  of  science.  He  was  enjoying  the 
fresh  young  sunshine  with  closed  eyes  and  quiescent  brain. 
He  was  enjoying  it,  as  the  aged  alone  can  enjoy  sioring,  with 
that  intensity  which  is  born  of  the  experience  that  it  is  only 
a  palliative,  and  that  the  real,  unchangeable  disease  is  win- 
ter, after  all. 

This  old  man  had  found  sufficient  opportunity  of  study- 
ing the  universal  complaint  in  his  own  person.  He  might 
have  said  with  the  patriarch  Jacob  that  the  days  of  his  pil- 
grimage had  been  few  and  evil,  had  he  understood  Jacob's 
way  of  reckoning  time.  But  he  had  not  even  that  great 
traveller's  consolation  of  knowing — for  it   ought   to   have 


372  GOD'S  FOOL. 

been  a  consolation — that  the  evil  days  had  at  least  been  few 
— on  the  contrary,  he  had  lived  a  very  long  life  and  a  very 
hard  one,  as  lives  go  in  these  degenerate  days.  He  had 
never  learnt  that  passionate  love  of  money  which  is  the 
secret  of  many  a  great  doctor's  success.  Eather  was  it  a 
favourite  saying  of  his  that  he  had  always  found  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  profession  more  occasion  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive. "  It  is  a  blessed  profession,"  he  would  say,  with  a 
quiet  smile,  "  on  that  account." 

He  had  been  a  good,  practical,  common-sense  family 
doctor,  not  one  of  those  great  lights  of  science  which  burn 
at  the  rate  of  a  guinea  a  minute,  but  a  hard-working  practi- 
tioner who  earned  his  modest  half  a  crown  per  visit  by  a 
constant  hurrying  to  and  fro  from  door  to  door  from  day  to 
day.  Still,  he  might  have  managed  sufficiently  comfortably 
in  his  simple  circle,  had  it  not  been  for  his  singular  ill-for- 
tune. He  had  acted  as  surety  for  a  brother  at  the  beginning 
of  his  career,  and  the  brother  had  run  away,  with  some  cash 
and  more  debts,  to  a  South  American  State,  where  his  chil- 
dren are  at  this  present  moment  wealthy  leaders  of  fashion. 
To  meet  the  claims  thus  brought  home  to  him,  Dr.  Pille- 
naar  had  been  obliged  to  appeal  to  old  Hendrik  Lossell  for 
assistance,  and  the  merchant  had  afforded  it  on  such  security 
as  was  procurable,  an  inadequate  mortgage,  namely,  on  a 
house,  which  still  remained  to  the  doctor,  after  the  rest  of 
his  little  property  had  been  done  away  with.  All  might 
now  have  come  right,  but  for  the  quarrel  about  Elias's  ill- 
ness, which  resulted  in  the  sudden  Avithdrawal  of  old  Hen- 
drik's  loan.  The  doctor  had  to  cast  about  for  other  help. 
He  must  have  money  by  what  means  were  still  practicable. 
He  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  and  spent  the  rest  of  his 
long,  laborious  life  in  repaying  them  for  their  timely  aid 
some  twenty  times  over.  "  It  is  not  my  brother  George  who 
has  ruined  us,"  he  always  said  to  his  wife,  "  but  the  Right 
Worshipful  Town  Councillor,  Hendrik  Lossell.  And  he 
has  done  it,  practically,  because  I  did  not  kill  his  son." 


ALAS,  POOR  HUBERT!  373 

From  the  first,  therefore,  he  felt  irresistibly  drawn  towards 
the  lad  for  whom  he  had  undergone  so  much.  It  has  been 
shown  hoAV  he  watched  over  Elias  and  protected  him  from 
the  father's  well-meaning  efforts  to  annul  the  effects  of  the 
boy's  affliction,  even  at  the  cost  of  the  sufferer's  health,  or 
perhaps  of  his  life. 

The  Town  Councillor  had  been  dead  many  5-ears,  and 
the  old  doctor  himself  was  hardly  any  longer  of  this  world, 
when  one  morning  he  said  to  the  daughter  who  lived  with 
him :  "  It  was  hardly  because  of  my  not  having  killed  his 
son,  I  fancy,  that  Hendrik  Lossell  treated  me  as  he  did.  I 
imagine  he  must  have  been  actuated  by  an  unreasoning 
feeling  of  depit.  He  was  angry  Avith  me  for  being  as 
poAverless  as  he  against  God.  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  think  of 
that  sooner,  so  that  I  might  have  spoken  of  it  to  your 
mother.     But  noAV  it  is  too  late." 

And  so  he  was  at  peace  with  all  men,  and  lived  on 
quietly,  healthfully,  happily  Avithal.  He  still  Avent  to  see 
Elias  occasionally,  and  he  had  ascertain  number  of  poor  pa- 
tients, Avhom  he  treated  gratuitously.  His  sons  had  done 
well,  and  one  of  his  daughters  had  married  a  rich  man  of 
business.  "  The  evening  is  calm,"  he  would  say.  And  he 
rested  in  the  sheltered  corner  of  his  study,  among  his  plants 
and  his  books.  It  A\'as  there  Hubert  found  him  on  the 
morning  of  his  call. 

"  I  am  come  once  again.  Doctor,"  said  Hubert  immedi- 
ately, "  to  speak  to  you  about  my  brother,  in  whom  you  haA^e 
ahvays  taken  such  kindly  interest.  It  is  many  years  ago 
since  we  last  discussed  this  same  subject  together.  Before 
my  departure  for  China." 

"  I  remember,"  replied  Dr.  Pillenaar.  "  I  hope  Elias  is 
not  ill." 

"  Not  otherwise  than  always,"  said  Hubert.  "  Dr.  Pille- 
naar, when  last  I  spoke  to  you  about  my  brother's  health, 
we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  Avas  best  to  look  upon  him 
as  one  who  was  not  ill,  but  well." 


BU  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  I  remember,"  said  Pillenaar  again. 

"  I  have  sometimes  thought  since,  that  we  may  have  been 
mistaken." 

"  Independently  of  all  other  considerations,"  began  the 
doctor,  "  it  was  the  express  wish  of  his  own  brothers " 

"  I  know,"  said  Hubert.  "  Will  you  excuse  my  interrupt- 
ing you?  I  mean  that  I  am  fully  conscious  the  blame 
would  be  mine.  That  thought  would  make  me  the  more 
desirous  to  undo  whatever  mischief  I  may  have  caused." 

Now,  Dr.  Pillenaar  had  no  reason  to  trust  the  brothers 
Lossell.  He  certainly  liked  Hubert  better  than  Hondrik, 
but  that  was  only  because  he  disliked  Hendrik  most.  He  be- 
lieved it  possible  that  Hubert  might  still  be  capable  of  con- 
sidering Elias's  welfare  in  matters  where  it  could  not  clash 
with  his  own.  But  wherever  a  case  of  conflicting  interests 
arose,  the  doctor's  experience  of  many  years  made  him 
cautious,  not  to  say  unjust. 

"  Aha,"  he  said  to  hims(^lf.  "  They  want  to  discover 
that  Elias  is  crazier  than  they  used  to  think.  I  wonder 
why."     He  prudently  waited  for  more. 

"  It  appears  to  me,"  continued  Hubert  awkwardly,  "  that 
the  position  which  we  have  created  is  a  false  one.  And 
therefore  I  should  wish  to  escape  from  it."  He  looked 
askance  at  the  old  man's  placid,  immovable  face.  It  was 
useless  to  seek  to  learn  anything  from  it.  He  twirled  his 
gloves  in  his  left  hand.  "  That  position  has  become  a 
danger,"  he  added  softly,  "  and  a  temptation." 

"  Speak  plainly.  Mynheer,  if  you  please,"  said  Dr. 
Pillenaar  coldly. 

"  I  will  do  so  as  far  as  I  can,"  answered  Hubert,  who 
was  not  an  adept  at  plain  speaking.  "  It  is  merely  this. 
Doctor  Pillenaar.  I  think  it  would  be  happier  for  all 
parties,  and  safer,  and  more  as  matters  should  be,  if  we 
were  to  take  steps  to  obtain  a  legal  declaration  of  Elias's 
incapacity  to  look  after  his  own  affairs." 

"  So  much  I  understood  before,"  rejoined  the  old  doctor, 


ALAS,  POOR  HUBERT!  375 

"  but  what  I  should  like  to  know — if  I  am  to  know  any- 
thing— is  the  reason,  Mynheer  Lossell.  May  I  ask,  has 
another  will  been  found,  after  all  these  years  ?  " 

Hubert  flushed  up.  "  You  do  me  wrong,"  he  said. 
"  The  reasons  for  acting  as  we  did,  and  still  do,  are  ab- 
solutely unchanged." 

"  Then  why  do  you  propose  an  alteration  ?  " 

"  Because  they  now  aj^pear  to  me  inadequate." 

The  doctor  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  You  speak  in 
enigmas,"  he  said.  "  The  original  arrangement  was  made 
on  your  behalf  and  that  of  your  brother,  to  enable  you  to 
continue  buying  shares  from  the  invalid.  What  advantage 
have  you  now  in  view  which  induces  you  to  propose  an 
alteration  ?  " 

Hubert  got  up  and  began  pacing  the  room.  After 
a  moment  he  said,  with  suj^pressed  emotion :  "  You 
wrong  me.  The  change  I  propose  is  very  disadvantageous 
to  my  brother  and  myself.  But  I  repeat,  and  I  can  say  no 
more,  I  believe  it  is  wiser,  and  more  prudent,  that  there 
should  be  no  further  irregularity  on  our  side.  Of  course 
we  know  that,  practically,  Elias  is  incapable.  Will  you 
help  me,  or  not?'' 

"  Not  unless  I  know  more  of  the  why  and  the  where- 
fore," said  Dr.  Pillenaar. 

"  But,  doctor,  what  more  can  there  be  to  know  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  be  frank  with  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  answered  Hubert,  casting  down  his  un- 
certain gaze  before  the  sudden  upAvard  sweep  of  the  old 
man's  eyes. 

"  Why  should  I  not  be  ?  You  have  come  to  me  un- 
asked. Is  it  not  that  you  have  discovered  that  the  present 
arrangement,  combined  with  your  long  absence  in  China, 
has  resulted  in  your  brother's  having  obtained  complete 
control  over  Elias's  fortune,  and  that  you  want  to  get  your 
share  by  being  made  co-trustee  ?  " 

Hendrik  would  have  screamed  out  in  petulant  indigna- 


376  GOD'S  FOOL. 

tion  at  the  injustice  of  such  ca  charge,  but  Hubert  was  a 
man  of  straight  and  sluggish  thought,  not  roused,  unless 
roused  altogether,  once  for  all.  And  therefore  he  kept 
down  emotion,  to  the  last.  "  It  is  my  destiny,"  he  often 
complained  to  Margaret,  "  to  be  perpetually  misunder- 
stood." "  But,  Hubert,"  his  wife  would  sometimes  answer, 
"do  you  care  to  ask  whether  you  are  understandable?" 
"  Oh,  no ;  it  is  not  that.     It  is  fate." 

"  In  no  case  should  I  propose  that  the  trusteeship  be 
divided  between  my  brother  and  me,"  he  now  answered 
stiffly,  but  straight  to  the  point.  "  One  of  Elias's  cousins 
must  be  the  second  man,  whoever  may  be  the  first.  In 
every  way  this  proposal  of  mine  can  only  be  a  source  of 
pecuniary  loss  to  me." 

"  And  the  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  which  the  law  allows 
to  trustees  ?  " 

"  My  brother  Hendrik  has  always  received  that  amount 
hitherto,  in  virtue  of  his  administration.  It  was  included 
in  the  sum  originally  set  apart  for  Elias's  support.  I  must 
once  more  repeat.  Dr.  Pillenaar,  that  all  the  loss  has  been 
and  still  is  on  my  side,  and  you  must  excuse  my  saying  that 
I  shall  not  repeat  that  statement  again." 

"  That  is  right,"  replied  the  doctor,  more  genially  than 
he  had  spoken  hitherto.  "  I  am  willing  to  believe  you. 
Mynheer  Lossell,  but  you  will  understand  that  when  I 
remember, — well !  You  are  not  acting /or  yourself.  So  be 
it.  Then  you  are  acting  against  your  brother  Hendrik. 
No  other  alternative  is  possible.  Elias's  condition  is  pretty 
much  the  same  as  it  was  when  you  made  up  your  minds  to 
consider  him  sane." 

"  It  is  worse,"  said  Hubert  eagerly,  "  I  am  sure  it  is 
worse.  I  am  able  to  judge  more  clearly  than  others,  per- 
haps, because  I  have  been  away  so  long." 

"  As  for  that,  he  judges  best  who  has  least  cause  for 
judging.  In  any  case,  your  object  is  to  defend  Elias  against 
your  brother  Hendrik.     I  can  understand  that." 


ALAS,  POOR  HUBERT!  377 

"  I  never  said  so,"  cried  Hubert. 

"  Therein,"  the  doctor  went  on  without  heeding  him,  "  I 
am  willing  to  help  you,  most  certainly,  as  far  as  I  am  able. 
But  I  doubt  whether  my  help  will  be  worth  much.  You 
will  perhaps  remember  my  telling  you,  when  first  you  con- 
sulted me,  that  Elias's  case  is  a  very  uncertain  one.  It  is 
always  impossible  for  a  medical  man  to  predict  what  view 
the  jurists  will  take  of  a  case  of  insanity.  All  that  he  can 
possibly  affirm  is  that  their  view  is  sure  to  be  incorrect. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  difficulties  would  have 
been  sufficient.  But  you  and  your  brother  have  rendered 
them  almost  insurmountable.  During  these  many  years 
Elias  has  been  considered  sane,  or  at  least  treated  as  such. 
What  reasons  are  you  going  to  give  the  Judges  for  this 
sudden  change  in  your  opinion  ?  " 

"  We  have  discovered  that  he  is  not  as  clear-headed 
as  we  thought,"  cried  Hubert  restlessly.  "  Look  at  that 
business  about  the  Charity,  for  instance.  My  brother 
Hendrik  most  erroneously  feared  I  would  countenance 
such  foolery.  You  were  informed  of  the  whole  matter,  I 
hear." 

"  You  mean  his  desire  to  give  up  all  he  possessed  to  the 
poor,"  said  the  doctor.  "  That  was  nothing  but  the  gener- 
ous impulse  of  an  unbalanced  mind.  Your  brother's 
cupidity  caused  him  to  unreasonably  exaggerate  its  im- 
portance. But  you  are  right.  That  circumstance,  more 
than  any  other  I  could  think  of,  would  bring  home  the  fact 
of  Elias's  insanity  to  the  judges  of  Koopstad." 

"  You  do  not  mean  to  say.  Dr.  Pillenaar,  that  you  do 
not  think  him  insane  ?  " 

"  I  mean  to  say,  Mynheer  Lossell,  that  you  have  ap- 
peared not  to  consider  him  insane  hitherto.  And  that,  by 
taking  such  action  during  a  long  period  of  time,  you  have 
made  it  impossible  for  yourselves  to  assert  his  insanity. 
You  have  certainly  made  it  impossible  for  me,  a  medical 
man.     I  was  an  accomplice  to  the  first  trick,  and  therefore 


378  GOD'S  FOOL. 

you  must  get  another  for  the  second,  unless  some  powerful 
new  consideration  be  adducible." 

"  Tliere  is  none,"  said  Hubert,  "  except  that  we  find  the 
responsibility  too  great.  Rather  than  continue  to  bear  it, 
we  abandon  the  effort  to  redistribute  the  shares." 

"  Then,  Mynheer,"  replied  the  doctor,  once  more  very 
coldly,  "  this  interview  is  at  an  end.  As  I  told  you  at  the 
beginning,  without  complete  confidence,  all  discussion  be- 
tween us  must  be  useless.  And  seeing  you  refuse  me  yours, 
I  have  no  more  to  say." 

"  I  really  do  not  understand  you,"  declared  Hubert 
helplessly,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  unwilling  to 
go,  unwilling  to  stay.  Once  more  the  old  man  looked  full 
at  him,  this  time  with  indignation  in  his  gaze  :  "  You  have 
a  motive,"  he  said,  his  voice  trembling  with  contempt. 
"  Will  you  name  it  ?     Or  shall  I  ?  " 

"  Do  you,"  said  Hubert,  "  explain." 

"  I  trust  you,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  as  much  as  I  can 
trust  a  Lossell,  that  is  to  say,  no  farther  than  necessary. 
Elias  is  not  one  of — them.  But  I  believe  that  you  have 
come  here  with  the  sincere  desire  to  save  Elias — and  your- 
self— from  ruin,  while  you  can.  You  want  to  defend  him 
— and  yourself — against  your  brother.  I  can  understand  it, 
Mynheer,     It  was  time." 

"  My  brother  is  honest,"  cried  Hubert.  "  The  charge  is 
false.  I  wish  to  defend  Elias  against  all  injury,  against 
myself ! " 

The  doctor  hesitated  for  a  moment.  Our  admirable 
nineteenth-century  civilization  has  reached  such  a  condition 
of  purity  that  it  has  been  compelled  to  decree,  in  self- 
preservation,  that  for  one  man  to  speak  the  truth  about  an- 
other is  always  heavily  punishable  by  law.  Dr.  Pillenaar 
knew  this.  He  was  thinking  of  it.  "  What  do  I  care  ?  "  he 
said  to  himself.  "  At  my  age  an  honest  man  has  learnt 
many  times  over  that  there  is  nothing  more  illegal  than  the 
law.     Anything  is  preferable  to  continued  innuendo." 


ALAS,  POOR  HUBERT!  379 

"  Am  I  to  believe,"  he  began  aloud,  "  that  you  come 
here  unasked  to  speak  to  me  about  Elias's  affairs,  and 
that  you  are  unaware  that  Hendrik  Lossell  is  one  of  the 
wildest  speculators  in  Kooj^stad  ?  "  He  sat  still  unmoved, 
in  the  sunshine,  among  his  plants,  with  the  open  book  by 
his  side.  Yet  in  spite  of  his  outward  calm,  his  soul  was 
perturbed  within  him,  for  he  read  the  answer,  before  it  was 
spoken,  in  his  visitor's  face,  and  was  sorry  for  the  man. 

"  You  mean  about  that  South  African  Syndicate,"  said 
Hubert.  "How  could  I  dream  that  you  knew  of  it?  It 
was  very  wrong  of  Hendrik.  But  that  matter  is  entirely 
arranged.  We  have  settled  it  together.  Elias  shall  not  be 
the  loser.     His  fortune  is  intact." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  a  South  African  Syndicate,"  replied 
the  doctor,  "  but  I  know  that  when  a  man  risks  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  florins  in  such  articles  as  petroleum  and 
tobacco,  the  sooner  other  people's  money  is  taken  out  of 
his  hands,  the  better  for  both  them  and  him." 

The  room  seemed  to  heave  to  and  fro  for  a  moment 
around  Hubert.  He  saw  nothing  but  the  old  man's  white 
face  in  a  mist.  He  stumbled  vaguely  towards  it,  and  was 
glad  to  realize,  after  a  moment,  that  he  had  dropped  into 

"  I  did  not  know,"  he  said  thickly.  "  Tell  me  about 
it,  doctor.     Don't  keep  anything  back." 

"  I  am  not  a  man  of  business.  Mynheer  Lossell,"  replied 
Pillenaar.     "  Wliat  I  have  heard  has  been  told  me  by  one 

who    is "      Hubert    understood    that    the    doctor    was 

alluding  to  his  son-in-law.  "  It  appears  that  it  is  pretty 
well  known  in  commercial  circles  that  your  brother  has 
an  enormous  stake  in  the  petroleum  trade.  That  is  an 
open  secret  which  you  would  have  known  before  me,  did 
a  man's  own  household  not  always  learn  least  of  his 
'  silent '  life.  But  few  people  are  probably  aware  as  yet 
that  he  has  been  risking  another  fortune  of  late  in  tobacco. 
He  has  been  buying  up  a  large  number  of  shares  in  the 


3 so  GOD'S   FOOL. 

South  Sumatra  Company.  My  informant  knows  this,  he- 
cause  he  himself  happens  to  be  largely  interested  in  the 
tobacco  trade — pah,  my  son-in-law,  as  you  know,  is  a  di- 
rector of  the  rival  company,  the  Royal  Sumatra." 

"  But  how  can  he  know,"  objected  Hubert,  "  that  the 
shares  are  bought  for  my  brother  ?  " 

"  How  can  he  know  ?  Do  not  ask  me.  How  does  the 
successful  man  of  business  know  everything  a  day  too  soon, 
and  the  unsuccessful  one  everything  a  day  too  late?  All 
the  difference  lies  there.  How  is  it  done  ?  By-the-bye,  the 
shares  are  not  bought  for  your  brother  directly.  They  are 
bought  for — and  often  by — ^Thomas  Alers.  But  as  Thomas 
Alers  has  no  money,  only  debts,  it  is  not  difficult  to  guess 
that  he  is  acting  for  his  intimate  friend  and  confederate." 

"  My  brother  has  no  money  either,"  said  Hubert. 

The  doctor's  silence  answered  him.  Neither  spoke  for 
a  moment  or  two.     Then  the  wretched  man  started  up. 

"  I  must  go  to  the  '  Officer  of  Justice  '  at  once,"  he  said. 
"  At  once.  All  the  more  reason  for  me  to  act  without 
delay.  You  will  help  me,  Dr.  Pillenaar,  by  all  the  means 
in  your  power." 

The  doctor  had  risen  also.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the 
young  man's  sleeve.  "  Be  careful,"  he  said.  "  Remem- 
ber, as  I  told  you  just  now,  that  these  years  of  delay  have 
placed  you  in  a  most  painful  predicament.  You  will  have 
to  weigh  every  word  which  you  speak  to  the  officials. 
The  honour  of  your  name  is  at  stake.  "Would  it  not  be 
possible  to  reason  with  your  brother,  and  arrest  his  prog- 
ress in  time?  Can  you  not  settle  the  matter  without  giving 
it  publicity?  Of  all  moments  this  is  the  most  unfortu- 
nate for  the  step  you  propose."  He  was  thinking  of  Elias. 
And  of  the  old,  honoured  house  of  Volderdoes  which 
Elias  represented. 

"  Speak  to  him  first,"  he  added  earnestly. 

"  I  have  spoken  already,"  said  Hubert,  in  a  deep,  dull 
voice. 


ALAS,  POOR  HUBERT!  381 

"Has  he  lied  to  me  all  this  time,  then?"  thought  Dr. 
Pillenaar.     "  Impossible." 

Hubert  had  been  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor 
with  downcast  eyes.     Suddenly  he  burst  out  passionately : 

"  But  Elias  is  crazy,  Dr.  Pillenaar.  He  is  crazy ;  he  is 
crazy.  You  know  he  is.  Why  not  tell  it  to  the  author- 
ities, and  have  done  ?  " 

"  He  is  not  one  whit  crazier  than  ten  years  ago,"  re- 
peated the  physician  patiently.  "And  when  the  legal 
officer  comes  to  see  him — as  you  know  will  be  necessary 
— he  may  probably  be  very  rational  and  calm.  This  is 
not  a  case  of  ordinary  insanity.  No  medical  man  can 
certify  to  Elias's  being  insane.  He  is  certainly  not  in  a 
state  to  manage  his  property.  But  then,  everyone  will 
at  once  point  out  that  he  never  can  have  been  that.  I 
have  often  noticed  that  he  seems  to  be  able  to  think  most 
lucidly  under  some  strong  emotional  strain.  A  sudden 
shock  concentrates  all  his  powers  for  the  moment.  I  have 
even  fancied  that  perhaps  some  violent  commotion,  psy- 
chical, or  may  be  only  physical,  such  as  the  original  blow, 
might  restore  the  lost  activity  of  his  brain.  I  hardly  think 
so  still.  And  yet  similar  results  have  not  infrequently 
been  obtained,  but  always  by  accident.  Science  knows 
nothing  of  the  how  or  why.  This  is  a  very  peculiar  case. 
And  yours  is  a  very  awkward  position,  Mynheer  Lossell.  I 
wish  you  well  out  of  it." 

"  It  is,"  said  Hubert.  "  It  is  much  more  than  that." 
And  then  he  turned  and  walked  away  without  a  word  of 
farewell. 

"  I  will  help  you,  if  I  can,"  the  doctor  called  after  him. 
Perhaps  the  old  man  felt  some  twinges  of  self-reproach  for 
the  unamiable  manner  in  which  ho  had  received  his  visitor. 
He  could  not  behave  to  those  Lossells  as  if  he  trusted  them. 

And  yet  he  was  sorry  for  Hubert.  He  would  have  been 
sorrier  had  he  known  all.     "  It  is  the  finger-post  upon  the 


382  GOD'S  FOOL. 

road,"  said  the  young  merchant  to  himself,  as  he  walked 
rapidly  away.  "  What's  tlie  use  of  struggling  to  turn  right 
or  left?"  His  mind  was  full  of  the  thought  how  shame- 
lessly Hcndrik  had  lied  to  him  in  their  solemn  reconcilia- 
tion and  compact,  barely  twenty-four  hours  ago.  Yet  to 
some  extent  he  unwillingly  brought  false  accusation  against 
his  brother,  for  Hendrik  had  not  known,  at  the  time,  of  the 
purchases  already  effected  by  Alers  on  his  behalf.  "  You 
mustn't  raise  prices  by  too  sudden  a  demand,"  the  lawyer 
observed  to  his  own  wise  and  active  mind.  And  therein  he 
was  undoubtedly  correct. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

SOCIAL   SCIElSrCE, 

Hubert's  interview  with  the  legal  functionary  to  whom 
he  now  immediately  addressed  himself  was  not  a  pleasant 
one.  Things  went  exactly  as  Dr.  Pillenaar,  with  his  large 
experience  of  similar  matters,  had  foreseen.  The  Officer 
was  polite — too  polite,  urbane — but  he  was  uncomfortable, 
suspicious  of  something  left  unsaid.  When  a  government 
official  is  laboriously  civil,  beware  of  him.  He  is  out  of  his 
element.  Said  Hubert :  "  What  does  the  man  conjecture  ?  " 
And  3"et  Dr.  Pillenaar  had  prepared  him. 

"  Since  when  has  your  brother  been  in  this  condition, 
Mynheer  Lossell  ?  "  questioned  the  Officer  smoothly.  He 
knew  perfectly  well. 

"  Since  a  great  number  of  years,"  replied  Hubert.  "  But 
— but  he  is  much  worse,  at  least,  he  is  worse  than  he  used 
to  be." 

"  Of  course,  or  no  alteration  would  have  become  neces- 
sary. And  has  any  doctor  recommended  you  to  take  a  step 
at  present,  which  seems  not  to  have  been  considered  advis- 
able before?" 

"  My  brother's  life-long  medical  attendant  also  considers 
him  incapable  of  acting  for  himself." 

"  Ah  !  Indeed.  Life-long,  as  you  say.  And  has  he  al- 
ways considered  him  capable  up  till  now  ?  " 

"  Circumstances  modify  opinions,"  said  Hubert  awk- 
wardly. 

I  entirely  agree  with  you  there.     Well,  Mynheer  Los- 


(( 


384  GOD'S  FOOL. 

sell,  this  whole  matter  only  indirectly  concerns  me,  you 
know.  Your  lirst  step  must  be  to  send  in  your  application 
to  the  Court,  and  then  we  shall  see.  My  role  is  only  to 
advise,  you  are  doubtless  aware,  in  this  as  in  most  similar 
complications  ;  the  Judges  decide.  The  Court  must  see  the 
patient,  you  will  remember.  In  most  cases  that  is  the 
merest  formality,  but  yours  is  such  a  peculiar  one.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  there  would  of  course  not  be  the 
slightest  difficulty.  There  never  is  when  the  doctors  are 
agreed.  And  from  all  I  have  heard  of  your  eldest  brother's 
position  I  should  say  there  is  not  the  faintest  doubt 
that  the  sooner  he  is  declared  unfit  to  look  after  his  own 
affairs  the  better.  But  then,  you  see  we  have  all  said  that 
for  the  last  ten  years  at  the  least.  All  Koopstad  has  said 
it.  The  case  is-  notorious.  The  fortune  altogether  unusual. 
He  has  had,  theoretically,  at  any  rate,  free  command  of  it 
all  this  time.  The  whole  city  is  in  possession  of  the  facts, 
and  of  more  than  the  facts.  You  have  heard,  I  dare  say, 
of  the  commotion  there  was  after  his  appearance  in  public 
on  the  occasion  of  your  other  brother's  marriage.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  unpleasant  talk  at  the  time,  ridiculous 
talk,  I  admit.  But  all  this  makes  the  sudden  change  of 
front  seem  awkward.  Speaking  frankly,  I  regret  that  you 
have  not  some  more  distinct  and  altogether  recent  cause  of 
perplexity  to  refer  to.  If  your  brother  had  taken  to  throw- 
ing his  money  into  the  water,  now,  or  if  he  had  lighted  his 
fire  with  a  bundle  of  bank-notes.  Nothing  of  the  kind,  eh  ? 
He  is  just  as  reasonable  as  he  has  always  been  ?  Well, 
perhaps  you  will  think  of  some  explanation.  As  I  say,  it  is 
hardly  my  business.  At  least,  not  at  this  initial  stage. 
Good-day,  Mynheer  Lossell." 

Hubert  understood  one  thing  clearly  when  he  came  away 
from  this  second  unsatisfactory  interview.  Everyone  was 
agreed  that  Elias  ought  to  be  placed  under  "  curators." 
But,  on  that  very  account,  nobody  would  understand  the 
excessive   delay.     He  did  not  apprehend,  as  Dr.  Pillenaar 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE.  335 

seemed  to,  the  impression  Elias's  semi-lucidity  might  make 
on  the  authorities,  but  tlien  Pillenaar,  as  a  medical  man, 
was  ready  to  ascribe  any  follies  to  the  representatives  of  the 
law.  What  Hubert  foresaw  was  that  he  and  his  brother 
would  have  to  explain  away  the  interval  between  their 
father's  death  and  to-day.  More  even  than  that,  between 
to-day  and  Elias's  coming  of  age.  Well,  their  father  had 
been  an  honest  man.  But  the  deficit  ?  How  account  for 
the  deficit,  if  it  be  true,  as  he  had  just  heard  from  Dr. 
Pillenaar,  that  Hendrik  had  made  away  with  his  step- 
brother's money? 

It  could  not  be  true.  "  I  will  not  believe  it,"  said  Hu- 
bert, a  hundred  times  over.  He  remembered  their  first 
solemn  vow,  when  they  were  still  lads  not  yet  out  of 
their  teens.  He — Hubert — had  kept  it.  He  recalled  each 
incident  of  yesterday's  altercation.  In  that  painful  quarrel 
he  had  sacrificed  his  wife's  small  fortune  to  save  his  broth- 
er's honour,  which  was  also  his  own.  And  Hendrik  had 
played  with  him,  cheated  him,  mocked  him  ?  It  could  not 
be.  This  money  which  he  used  for  his  speculations,  he 
must  have  raised  it  by  some  other  means.  It  could  not  be 
Elias's  !     And  yet 

And  yet,  he  had  declared  that  he  had  no  money  of  his 
own,  not  even  security.  How  can  you  raise  money  without 
security?  He  had  pointed  out  how  he  had  sunk  every 
available  penny  in  the  business.  Hubert  knew  that  this 
was  true.  Hubert  himself  had  bought  but  very  few  of  his 
step-brother's  shares.  "  I  am  poor  and  honest,"  he  said 
proudly  to  himself,  over  and  over  again. 

He  did  not  again  ask  for  an  explanation  from  Hendrik. 
He  dared  not ;  he  trusted  neither  that  slippery  individual, 
nor  his  own  gloomy,  stormy,  unfathomable  self.  "  Let  Des- 
tiny work  round,"  he  said.  **  It  solves  all  problems."  He 
shrank  from  every  problem,  in  the  solving  of  which  were 
involved  his  fierce  passions  and  weak,  bridleless  will.  He 
told  his  brother  that  the  request  to  the  Court  was  ready. 
25 


386  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"Would  Hendrik  sign  it,  or  should  he,  or  both  ?  "  Do  as 
you  please,"  said  Hendrik  curtly.  And  Hubert  sent  in  his 
demand  alone.  Presently  he  informed  Hendrik  that  he  had 
received  an  answer,  and  Hendrik  said  :  "  Indeed  ?  "  Avithout 
looking  up  from  his  writing.  And  from  time  to  time  Hu- 
bert stated  thus  briefly  the  progress  of  the  whole  miserable 
business.  He  was  acting  alone.  On  the  whole,  the  brothers 
lived  apart  during  this  terrible  week,  even  much  more  than 
formerly.  They  met  at  the  Office,  as  was  unavoidable,  and 
barely  spoke  to  each  other.  The  air  was  heavy  with  im- 
pending catastrophe.  A  mist  hung  between  them.  It  could 
not  last.  But  Hubert  lacked  the  desperate  courage  to  flash 
through  it  a  fresh  gleam  of  hideous  light. 

One  day,  however,  he  found  himself  compelled  to  say : 

"  Had  we  not  better  appoint  a  day,  Hendrik,  on  which 
we  can  look  through  the  accounts  together  and  make  an 
exact  inventory  of  Elias's  property  ?  " 

"  Monday,"  said  Hendrik,  his  eyes  on  his  desk. 

"  Monday  is  the  day  they  have  appointed  to  see  Elias." 

"  Tuesday,"  said  Hendrik,  his  attitude  unchanged. 

"  Would  Saturday  not  be  better  ?  " 

"  Saturday  is  impossible.  Seventeen  and  nineteen  are 
thirty-six,  and  five  are  forty-one." 

Hendrik  struck  the  handbell  in  front  of  him.  Saturday 
was  the  day  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  South  Sumatra 
Tobacco  Company. 

For  a  moment  Hubert  had  thought  of  questioning  Alers, 
but  he  had  abandoned  that  idea  almost  at  once.  It  was  a 
matter  between  his  brother  and  himself.  And  he  saw  the 
honour  of  their  name  going  down  in  the  struggle.  Well,  if 
it  must  go,  it  must  go.  He  could  not  do  more  than  defend  it 
to  the  last.     And  he  fought  with  the  fierceness  of  a  fatalist. 

In  the  depths  of  his  heart  he  still  hoped  that  the  money 
would  be  forthcoming,  and  that  all  would  turn  out  right. 
He  had  even  sought  comfort  in  the  hope  that  Hendrik 
might  succeed  in  satisfactorily  cooking  the  accounts  so  as 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE.  387 

to  smooth  away  any  vestiges  of  peculations.  But  this  fancy 
he  knew  to  be  a  futile  one.  Vast  as  Elias's  fortune  was,  its 
disposal,  iu  a  few  great  lumps,  would  be  found  too  simple 
to  render  even  this  worst  of  all  expedients  anything  but  a 
useless  farce.  Hubert  would  find  himself  face  to  face  with 
the  facts.  What  must  he  do  ?  Denounce  his  own  brother  ? 
He  had  already  taken  the  first  steps  in  that  direction.  The 
others  would  doubtless  follow.  He  must  save  Elias's  prop- 
erty in  the  first  place.  He  must  keep  his  most  sacred  vow 
to  his  dead  father.  He  must  save  the  great  house  of  Vol- 
derdoes.  Save  it  ?  Was  he  not  ruining  it  as  fast  as  he 
could  by  bringing  disgrace  upon  its  leading  partner  ?  But 
the  judges  need  not  know  of  the  deficit,  if  there  was  a  defi- 
cit, after  all.  And  yet,  if  they  asked  whether  the  property 
had  remained  intact  during  all  the  preceding  years,  what 
must  Hubert  answer?  What  must  he  say  to  the  family 
council,  Elias's  cousins? 

He  looked  across  from  his  desk,  where  he  sat  with  his 
face  between  his  hands,  and  groaned  aloud.  Hendrik  paused 
in  his  writing,  and  stared  quietly  for  a  second,  with  uplifted 
pen,  then  he  smiled,  and  returned  to  his  work. 

It  was  impossible  for  Margaret  not  to  perceive  some- 
thing of  what  was  going  on  in  her  husband's  heart.  In 
fact,  he  told  her  of  it,  himself,  in  his  own  peculiar  way.  In 
brief  outbursts  of  a  dozen  passionate  words,  protests  against 
God's  wisdom  or  man's  folly,  sudden,  incoherent  exculpa- 
tions of  himself.  Such  explanations,  although  they  were 
devoid  of  any  direct  reference  to  persons  or  events,  suflficed 
to  reveal  the  workings  of  his  mind  to  the  woman  who  loved 
him.  And  that  circumstances  had  rendered  it  necessary  to 
apply  for  a  legal  recognition  of  Elias's  incompetency  he  had 
told  her  in  so  many  words.  The  fact  was  in  no  wise  a  se- 
cret. It  could  not  be.  It  would  be  all  over  Koopstad  to- 
morrow. "  I  only  do  hope  it  won't  lead  to  his  being  treated 
as  insane,  Hubert,"  Margaret  had  said  anxiously,  "  because 


388  GOD'S  FOOL. 

he  really  isn't  insane,  I  can  assure  you.  He  is  just  a  child, 
a  child  with  a  weak  intellect  and  a  very  bad  memory.  He 
only  remembers  by  likes  and  dislikes.  He  has  not  lost  his 
reason.  But  it  is  a  reason  of  the  heart,  not  of  the  brain. 
And  that  is  really  all.  It  would  be  awful,  Hubert,  if  he 
were  locked  up  as  insane." 

"  No  one  thinks  of  doing  that,"  answered  Hubert  im- 
patiently. "  It  is  merely  a  question  of  the  management  of 
his  property.  Please  don't  go  about  telling  people  we  want 
to  lock  him  up." 

"  I  do  not  betray  your  confidence,  Hubert,"  she  said,  a 
little  nettled,  "  such  as  it  is." 

"  I  have  no  secrets,"  he  replied.  "  Only  rogues  have 
secrets.  And  honest  men  can  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  finding 
them  out." 

She  did  not  answer.  Long  ago  she  had  put  two  and 
two  together,  and  understood  that  Hubert  had  discovered 
some  disgraceful  fact  in  connection  with  Hendrik,  and  that 
the  knowledge  of  this  fact,  whatever  it  might  be,  was  mak- 
ing him  utterly  miserable.  Probably  the  difficulty  was  con- 
nected with  money,  Elias's  money.  "  There  was  certainly 
too  much  of  that,"  thought  Margaret.  Perhaps  Hendrik 
agreed  with  her. 

"  The  unique  object  of  the  bad  men  on  earth,"  added 
Hubert,  "  seems  to  be  to  torment  the  good.  And  therefore 
the  most  sensible  thing,  it  appears,  would  be  for  the  good 
men  to  clear  off  the  bad.  Why,  that  is  Kingsley's  theory," 
he  suddenly  cried,  with  a  laugh.  "  The  one  we  were  read- 
ing about  the  other  day.  You  see  what  comes  of  reading 
your  style  of  books  !  What  a  St.  Bartholomew  that  would 
be  ! "    And  he  stared  in  front  of  him  with  dreamy  eyes. 

"  There  is  none  good,  no,  not  one,"  said  Margaret  softly. 

She  was  teaching  Elias  to  understand  that,  with  many 
other  truths.  And  she  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  her 
pupil's  aptitude ;  in  some  things  he  was  even  more  willing 
to  learn  than  her  quicker-witted  children,  whose  questions 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE.  389 

would  flit  away  from  metaphysical  abstractions  to  every  bud 
and  every  butterfly  they  came  across.  Elias,  to  whom  the 
visible  was  invisible  and  the  audible  inaudible,  was  spared 
that  struggle  between  sense  and  faith,  in  which  the  souls  of 
most  of  us  are  either  wounded  or  slain.  And,  doubtless,  it 
was  this  his  infirmity  which  enabled  him  more  easily  to 
comprehend  that  which  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard. 
He  could  not  restrict  himself,  as  did  Hendrik,  for  instance, 
to  believing  what  he  beheld  with  his  eyes ;  and  therefore  he 
was  content  to  accept  what  he  saw  with  his  heart.  Looking 
up  in  the  clear  darkness  of  his  night,  he  knew  the  heavens 
to  be  ablaze  with  light.  He  himself  understood  something 
of  this — vaguely.  "  Mother  Margaretha,"  he  once  said,  "  do 
you  know,  I  think  blind  people  see  some  things  best.  Jo- 
hanna doesn't  see  half  the  things  I  see.  She  says  she  only 
sees  what  is  just  straight  in  front  of  her.  I  can't  see  that, 
but  I  seem  to  see  everything  you  tell  me.  I  see  Jesus  bless- 
ing the  little  children,  and  riding  into  Jerusalem  on  a  don- 
key. And  I  see — I  see  Him,  on  the  cross."  He  opened 
his  great  eyes  and  turned  them  full  upon  her — the  strong 
man,  in  his  massive  beauty,  his  enforced  repose — and  she 
saw  that  they  were  full  of  tears. 

"  It  is  dreadful  to  be  blind,"  said  Elias  a  moment  later. 
"  I  should  like  to  see  the  children,  and  you.  It  is  dreadful 
never  to  know  what  people  are  like." 

The  fresh  plans  of  self-spoliation  which  he  had  first 
mentioned  to  Hubert,  still  incessantly  occupied  his  unelas- 
tic  brain.  A  very  mania  of  sacrifice  had  fallen  upon  him, 
chiefly  as  the  unavoidable  result  of  Margaret's  religious 
teaching.  He  had  caught  hold  of  the  two  truths  that 
Christ  had  given  up  everything  for  our  sakes,  and  that  it 
was  our  duty  to  imitate  Him  in  all  matters,  and  the  conclu- 
sions he  drew  were  straight  to  the  point  and  in  complete 
accordance  with  his  generous,  single-thoughted  nature.  He 
had  found  out  for  himself,  before  anyone  ever  spoke  to  him 
of  Christianity,  its  great  central  reality  of  abandonment. 


390  GOD'S   FUUL. 

And,  more  vehemently  than  ever,  he  desired,  with  the  new 
light  upon  him,  to  bestow  all  his  superfluity  on  those  who 
had  not  enough.  "  I  don't  think  I  should  like  to  give  my- 
self," he  said  frankly.  "  But,  you  know.  Mother  Margare- 
tha,  I  can't,  I  can't  do  anything  for  anybody.  I  ought  to 
give  all  that  I  can,  and  I  shall.  I  always  knew  that  God 
had  made  the  poor  so  the  rich  could  be  good  too.  How 
awful  it  would  be  if  everybody  were  rich  and  went  to  hell. 
I  am  glad  Hendrik  allowed  me  to  spend  all  my  money  on 
the  poor  people.  It  is  kind  of  him.  Only  there  must 
always  be  enough  for  Volderdoes  Zonen,  or  papa  Avill  be 
angry  when  he  comes  back." 

He  was  very  troublesome.  He  now  persisted  in  dis- 
tributing flowers  to  every  one  who  came  to  ask  for  them, 
just  as  he  had  always  scattered  coppers  on  his  walks.  The 
thing  soon  became  known  in  the  city,  and  troops  of  the 
raggedest  children  flowed  out  to  Elias's  villa  and  besieged 
its  gate.  Elias  cried  and  stormed,  if  they  were  driven  away. 
His  pleasure  was  to  sit  at  the  entrance  with  John,  a  couple 
of  baskets  at  his  side,  and  to  place  a  flower  in  each  suc- 
cessive little  dirty  palm.  It  was  fortunately  easy  to  deceive 
him,  and  to  hire  and  wash  a  dozen  children  who  rotated 
around  him.  But  then  again,  after  a  time,  his  delicate 
powers  of  perception  learned  to  distinguish  this  orderly 
procession  from  the  hubbub  of  a  clamorous  crowd.  And 
he  was  very  angry  at  the  deception.  People  ought  never  to 
have  deceived  Elias.  Johanna,  despite  all  her  affection, 
never  grasped  that  truth,  from  sheer  lack  of  refinement. 
She  belonged  to  a  class  which  habitually  lies.  But  the  re- 
coil of  the  discovery  was  too  cruel.  Elias  often  said  to  him- 
self, "  It  would  not  matter  so  much  not  seeing,  if  people 
only  always  told  you  exactly  what  there  was  to  see." 

But  the  distributions  of  flowers,  and,  still  more,  the 
occasional  offers  to  beggars  to  share  the  carriage  with  its 
rightful  owner,  the  practice,  in  one  word,  of  the  lessons  of 
Christianity  by  this  fool  who  had  great  possessions,  caused 


SOCIAL  SCIENCE.  39 1 

increased  annoyance  to  all  well-regulated  minds  in  Chris- 
tian Koopstad.  The  Burgomaster,  who  had  already  re- 
monstrated with  Hendrik  on  former  occasions,  once  more 
appealed  to  the  brothers  to  put  a  stop  to  such  vagaries  as 
these.  "  Social  order,  you  know,  and  indiscriminate  chari- 
ty. And  the  divinely  instituted  equation :  Bare  feet :  Kid 
Boots  =  Dusty  Eoads :  Carriage  Cushions.  And,  further- 
more, you  must  especially  be  careful  not  to  pauperize  the 
poor."  It  was  quite  true.  The  Burgomaster  was  right. 
And  so  was  Elias.  It  is  a  sad,  mad  world,  my  Masters. 
Happy  he  who  sees  only  the  madness,  or  only  the  sadness. 
Happiest  who  sees  neither.    What  can  you  expect  of  a  fool  ? 

"  I  want  to  be  like  Christ,"  said  Elias ;  "  I  want  to  give 
all  I  don't  need  for  my  own  use  to  those  who  haven't  got  it. 
But  I  don't  think  I  could  give  what  I  need  for  our  own 
house.  And  I — I  don't  think  I  could  give  myself  :  but  no- 
body wants  me.  I  don't  think  I  want  to  be  quite  like 
Christ,  Mother  Margaretha." 

"  He  is  not  mad,  dear  Hubert,"  said  Margaret.  "  Only 
like  a  little  child." 

"  And  therefore  we  desire  to  see  him  declared  incompe- 
tent," said  Hubert. 

"  Ah,  the  pity  of  it !  "  chorused  the  ladies,  married  and 
unmarried.     "  A  fortune  lying  waste." 

"  He  is  insane.  The  sooner  he  were  locked  up  the  bet- 
ter for  us  all,"  said  the  Burgomaster  of  Koopstad. 

And  the  Burgomaster  of  Koopstad  is  a  very  shrewd  man. 
He  learned  a  great  deal  in  his  day  from  his  grandmother, 
who  was  cousin,  by  no  means  removed,  to  old  Mynheer 
Nicholas  van  Dam,  the  former  perpetual  Lord  of  Koopstad. 
They  tell  me  the  old  gentleman  is  no  longer  connected  with 
the  place.  People  say  he  is  dead,  but  that  I  can  hardly  be- 
lieve. Anyhow,  its  streets  and  squares  must  look  strangely 
deserted  without  the  once  familiar  presence  of  him  whom 
all  scoifers  used  to  call  "  Old  Nick." 


CHAPTER  XLVL 

THE    CATASTROPHE, 

It  was  on  Friday,  the  very  Friday  which  brought 
Hubert  Lossell  the  decisive  letter  from  Dr.  Pillenaar, 

Ah,  true,  I  have  not  told  you  yet  about  that  letter. 

"  Friday  is  always  an  unlucky  day,"  said  Hubert.  "  It 
is  wonderful  how  these  things  come  out,  without  any 
earthly  reason  why." 

He  was  sitting  in  the  brothers'  private  room  at  the 
Office,  writing,  alone.  Hendrik  had  gone  out,  without 
saying  whither  or  why.  Hubert  was  not  sorry  to  see  him 
go.  The  hour  was  a  quiet  one,  the  period  after  lunch  when 
lazy  people  do  nothing,  and  busy  people  do  less  than  usual. 
There  was  a  lull  in  the  day's  work,  and  the  lofty  sun  shone 
briskly  through  the  Office  windows.  Hubert  sat  at  his  desk 
writing  slowly,  half  his  mind  in  his  letter,  half  in  his 
sombre  thoughts.  And  the  flowery  Chinaman  over  the 
mantelpiece  sat  serenely  watching  him,  and  winking  at  his 
back  from  time  to  time. 

Presently  a  visitor  was  announced,  on  business.  The 
visitor,  vinconscious  of  his  mistake,  sat  down  in  the  cbair 
from  which  the  merchant  had  just  risen,  and  faced  round 
to  the  centre-desk  with  its  vacant  seat.  Hubert  found 
himself  compelled  to  choose  between  his  brother's  place  of 
honour  and  one  of  the  two  low  arm-chairs  beside  it,  which 
were  usually  offered  to  strangers.  He  did  not  take  his 
brother's  seat.     To  his  visitor's  surprise  he  drew  forward 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  393 

the  fauteuil.  "  These  lazy  young  men  !  "  thought  tlie  other, 
and  shook  his  head,  Avhich  was  white. 

The  conference  was  not  a  long  one.  After  a  few 
minutes  the  old  gentleman  rose  to  depart.  He  secretly 
regretted  not  having  found  Hendrik  in,  for,  like  most  of 
his  colleagues  on  'Change,  he  regarded  Hendrik  as  by  far 
the  better  man  of  business.  "  We  can  settle  the  particulars 
later  on,"  he  said,  "  I  am  quite  satisfied  to  have  your  word. 
It  is  always  pleasant  to  find  one's  self  in  commercial  rela- 
tions with  your  house.  Mynheer  Lossell.  I  am  one  of  the 
oldest  merchants  in  Koopstad,  and  I  have  never  heard  any- 
one impugn  the  good  faith  and  spotless  integrity  of  Voider- 
does  Zonen."  He  went  his  way,  and  Hubert  closed  the 
door  upon  him  with  a  self-scorning  smile.  The  Chinaman 
leered  in  placid  intelligence.  He  knew  that  the  words 
must  be  taken  commercially,  that  is,  with  plenty  of  water — 
like  the  tea. 

Hubert  cast  a  glance  through  the  great  plate-glass 
partition  at  the  outer  office  with  its  silent  activity  of 
numerous  bent  heads  and  restless  pens,  and  at  the  noisy 
hurry  and  bustle  on  the  quay  beyond.  What  a  mighty 
machine  it  was,  quivering,  throbbing,  pulsing  onward,  with 
the  hand  of  a  thief  at  the  guiding  stop. 

A  young  clerk  was  coming  up  through  the  Office  with  a 
note  in  his  hand.     And  that  note  was  Dr.  Pillenaar's. 

Hubert  took  it  wearily.  More  business.  More  tea  at 
so-much.  Black  or  green  or  mixed.  All  the  little  accurate 
daily  details,  the  little  holes  into  which  thoughts  must 
mechanically  fit,  were  inexpressibly  revolting  to  him  at  this 
terrible  crisis.  His  mind  shuddered  back  from  them,  as  the 
red-hot  furnace  recoils  hissing  from  a  splash  of  cold  water. 
Another  order.  Two,  two  and  three,  two  and  nine.  Mixed 
tea,  and  green,  and  black.     And  superfine  pure  Chinese. 

Dr.  Pillenaar's  letter  was  very  short : 

"  Wei  Edel  Geborcn  Heer  :  Come  and  see  me  at  once. 

"J.  C.  PiLLENAAK." 


394  GODS   FOOL. 

Hubert  sat  down  and  wrote  an  answer,  saying  that,  to 
his  great  regret,  he  must  delay  for  an  hour  or  two,  as  he 
was  alone  at  the  Office. 

He  folded  it  and  put  it  into  an  envelope,  and  carefully 
addressed  it.  And  then  he  tore  it  up  and  rang  for  a  head 
clerk. 

"  I  am  compelled  to  go  out  for  a  few  moments,"  he  said. 
"  I  do  not  exjoect  to  be  long." 

And  he  went  to  Dr.  Pillenaar. 

He  found  the  old  doctor  seated,  just  as  he  had  left  him, 
when  he  had  run  away  from  his  disclosures  a  few  days  ago. 
It  seemed  as  if  Death  had  forgotten  this  quiet  man  in  his 
corner,  among  his  flowers  and  his  books  and  his  thoughts 
of  a  long,  long  past.  The  doctor  motioned  his  visitor  to  a 
seat.  Then  he  sat  silent  for  some  minutes,  as  if  he  found 
it  difficult  to  begin  the  conversation. 

"  You  sent  for  me "  Hubert  hazarded  at  last. 

"  Yes.  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  Mynheer  Lossell. 
It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  tell.  Ah,  that  is  not  fair.  I  am 
keeping  you  in  suspense.  Well,  here  goes.  We  spoke, 
when  last  you  were  -  here,  of  the  South  Sumatra  Tobacco 
Company.  Chance  lias  put  me  into  possession  of  strange 
information  with  regard  to  that  company.  I  have  sent  for 
you  to  advise  you  to  persuade  your  brother  to  sell  out  to- 
dav." 

Hubert  pulled  out  his  watch.  "  He  can't,"  he  said. 
"  Exchange  hours  are  over.  But,  Doctor,  everyone  says  the 
company  is  flourishing.  The  annual  meeting  takes  place 
to-morrow.  An  enormous  dividend  is  predicted.  And  the 
shares,  which  went  down  last  week,  on  account  of  malicious 
reports,  have  come  up  again  recently  to  their  former  out- 
rageous price." 

"  I  must  tell  you,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  come  what  may. 
The  matter  is  briefly  this.  I  hear  that  the  Company  is  in- 
deed as  extravagantly  prosperous  as  the  price  of  the  shares 
would  give  reason  to  suppose.     A  dividend  of  fifty-five  per 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  395- 

cent.  will  be  announced  to-morrow,  and  the  shares  which 
are  at  present  at  about  500  above  par  ought  to  go  up,  Hen- 
drik  Lossell  thinks,  two,  three  hundred  more  in  conse- 
quence." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hubert,  "  and  I  fancy  he  is  right." 

"  He  is  wrong.  They  will  be  down  to  one  hundred  per 
cent,  to-morrow  evening." 

"  Impossible,"  said  Hubert  quietly,  suppressing  a  smile. 

"  The  matter  is  very  simple,  I  believe.  The  Eoyal 
Sumatra  Company,  the  sole  rival  of  the  South  Sumatra,  has 
been  busy  for  a  long  time  surreptitiously  buying  up  the  re- 
quired majority  of  its  shares.  These  are  scattered,  as  you 
will  understand,  over  the  necessary  number  of  agents.  At 
to-morrow's  meeting  a  proposal  will  be  brought  forward  to 
liquidate  the  Company  and  to  sell  all  its  possessions  to  the 
Eoyal  Sumatra,  which  has  fortunately  stepped  in  at  this 
crisis  and  kindly  offers  a  jjrice  which  will  guarantee  to  all 
shareholders  the  full  amount  of  their  shares.  Cent,  per 
cent.,  you  see,  and  perhaps  a  slight  surplus.  The  proposal 
will  be  put  to  the  vote  and  carried." 

"  Impossible,"  repeated  Hubert,  though  with  less  assur- 
ance. "Utterly  impossible.  My  dear  Doctor,  such  an 
operation  as  that  would  be  punishable  by  law." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  asked  the  Doctor.  It  was  now  his 
turn  to  suppress  a  smile.  "  I  do  not  fancy  the  conspirators 
are  very  afraid  of  legal  proceedings.  They  have  laid  their 
plans  carefully,  and  a  conspiracy  will  be  difficult  to  prove. 
There  will  be  a  large  number  of  voters — comparatively — at 
to-morrow's  meeting,  but,  in  reality,  I  believe  the  great 
mass  of  the  shares  is  in  the  hands  of  two  owners  only,  the 
lioyal  Sumatra  Company  on  the  one  side,  and  your  brother 
on  the  other." 

"  Impossible  again,"  cried  Hubert ;  "  their  capital  is  far 
too  large  for  that !  " 

"  One  thing  more.  The  Royal  Sumatras,  in  their  anxi- 
ety to  be  sure  of  their  majority,  have  bought  more  shares 


390  GOD'S  FOOL. 

tlum  thoy  require.  Tliat  accounts  for  the  great  rise  in 
prices,  notwithstanding  unsatisfactory  reports.  They  are 
striving,  with  all  their  might  and  main,  as  you  can  believe, 
to  get  the  superfluous  shares  off  their  hands.  And  I  know 
that  a  large  quantity  have  been  offered  en  bloc  to  your 
brother  at  50  per  cent,  under  Exchange  price.  The  affair 
is  to  be  settled  to-night,  at  a  Notary's." 

Hubert  sat  silent,  thinking  it  out  as  best  he  could. 
Then  he  asked  abruptly  :  "  How  do  you  know  all  this  ?  " 

"  You  need  hardly  ask  me,"  replied  Dr.  Pillenaar. 

"  How  many  shares  do  yoiT  believe  my  brother  to 
have?" 

"  I  cannot  tell.  I  have  heard  sj)eak  of  one  hundred.  In 
any  case  I  know  that  the  offer  for  this  evening  is  of  two 
hundred  more." 

"  Three  hundred  shares  at  six  hundred  per  cent,,"  cried 
Hubert.  "  Eighteen  hundred  thousand  florins !  *  Dr. 
Pillenaar ! " 

"  It  is  a  gigantic  undertaking,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  None 
but  the  Eoyal  Sumatra  could  have  risked  it.  However, 
they  were  bent  on  buying  up  their  rivals,  and  this  trans- 
action puts  a  couple  of  millions  in  their  pockets.  Clear 
gain." 

"  To  my  brother,"  said  Hubert  softly,  "it  would  mean  a 
loss  of  a  million  and  a  half,  at  one  blow,  independently  of 
any  losses  he  may  previously  have  sustained." 

"  It  is  on  that  account  I  sent  for  you,"  said  Dr.  Pillenaar. 
"  What  is  done  can't  be  mended,  but  you  can  still  prevent 
the  chief  catastrophe.  This  new  vast  purchase  must  not 
take  place.  It  is  outrageous.  It  is  scandalous,"  cried  Dr. 
Pillenaar,  waxing  angry.  "  Are  we  to  sit  quietly  by  and 
see  Elias  reduced  to  beggary  ?     You  must  go  to  your  broth- 

*  For  the  benefit  of  the  reader  wlio  considers  the  prices  above  given 
to  be  excessive  the  fact  may  be  stated  that  to-day's  Stock  Intelligence, 
as  published  by  the  Amsterdam  Bourse,  quotes  Arendsburg  Tobacco 
Shares  at  900,  and  Deli  ditto  at  730. 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  397 

er  instantly,  Mynheer  Lossell.  You  may  confide  to  him 
what  I  liave  told  you.  Let  him  keep  silent  about  it,  if  he 
can.  If  he  won't,  let  him  speak.  I  do  not  care.  I  have 
quarrelled — I  fear  almost  irremediably — with  my  son-in-law 
about  this  business.  I  cannot  help  it.  I  must  save  Elias. 
And  the  honoured  name  of  Volderdoes.  I  rejoice  that  God 
has  spared  me  to  work  out  my  revenge  upon  the  Lossells 
before  I  die." 

"  I  am  going,"  said  Hubert,  stumbling  to  his  feet. 

"  It  is  my  son-in-law  and  Lanka ter  who  have  arranged 
the  matter  between  them.  The  offer  is  supposed  to  come 
from  a  speculator  who  cannot  hold  out." 

"  But  this  story  of  the  proposed  liquidation,"  said  Hu- 
bert, with  a  last  flicker  of  hope.  "  It  is  outrageous.  It  is' 
impossible.     It  is  a  crime." 

"  I  am  not  a  man  of  business,"  answered  Dr.  Pillenaar. 
"  Is  it  ?     I  thought  you  were." 

Hubert  went  straight  back  to  the  Office,  to  the  Office- 
door. 

"  Has  Mynheer  Hendrik  returned  ? "  he  asked  the  old 
door-keeper. 

"  No,  Mynheer." 

"  If  he  does,  tell  him  to  wait  for  me  here.  Tell  him  that 
some  important  news  has  arrived." 

"  Very  well.  Mynheer." 

Then  he  walked  out  to  Hendrik's  house  and  inquired  for 
him  there.  That  was  useless,  as  he  had  expected  it  would 
be.  Cornelia  came  into  the  hall  at  the  sound  of  her  broth- 
er-in-law's voice.     She  was  dressed  to  go  out. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  where  Hendrik  is,  Hubert  ? "  she 
asked.  "  What !  are  you  looking  for  him  too  ?  How  pro- 
voking. He  Avas  to  fetch  me  at  half-past  two  to  accompany 
me  to  the  General's  reception.  Their  daughter  is  going  to 
be  married  next  week,  as  you  know.  Are  you  going  there 
also  ?     Oh  no,  I  wasn't  thinking ;  you  do  not  know  them. 


398  GOD'S  FOOL. 

It  is  extremely  annoying  !  I  should  not  wonder  if  he  for- 
got altogether.  And  he  has  got  the  carriage.  I  am  at  a 
loss  what  to  do.  I  can't  stop  away.  And  I  can  hardly 
arrive  there  in  a  cab." 

"  No ;  hardly  in  a  cab,"  rejieated  Hubert.  "  It  is  very 
annoying  for  you.  I  should  not  wonder  if  he  forgot  al- 
together, as  you  say.  Good-bye.  If  he  comes  here,  tell  him 
to  meet  me  at  the  Office  at  five.     Or  at  eight." 

Cornelia  remained  alone  with  her  annoyance,  plus  a  large 
dose  of  indignant  astonishment.  "  It  was  almost  as  if  he 
were  laughing  at  me,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  How  rude 
Hubert  can  be,  to  be  sure  !  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  go 
in  a  cab,  after  all."  She  looked  down  at  her  new  spring 
toilet  and  sighed.  She  wondered  whether  the  dirty  cab- 
cushions  would  soil  it.  "  Of  course  Margaret  need  not  go," 
she  thought.  "  How  could  I  ask  ?  She  has  got  no  friends, 
and  no  new  dresses.     She  has  got  nothing  but  babies." 

Hubert  went  down  the  road  again,  back  towards  the 
centre  of  the  town.  What  next  ?  He  did  not  know.  He 
could  have  hardly  told  himself  what  he  had  done  already 
since  he  left  Dr.  Pillenaar.  One  thought  only  stood  out 
clearly  in  his  mind.  "  I  must  save  Elias.  And  the  hon- 
oured name  of  Volderdoes."  A  stranger  could  say  that. 
The  man  could  say  it  whom  the  Lossells  had  done  life-long 
wrong.  And  to  attain  his  end  that  man  could  break  away 
from  the  stay  of  his  old  age,  casting  from  him,  probably, 
even  the  material  support  of  which  he  stood  in  need.  It 
was  thus  that  the  upright  did  right.     And  he — Hubert? 

As  a  child,  he  had  taken  his  eldest  brother's  life,  and  left 
him  only  sentient  death.  It  was  but  natural  that,  as  a  man, 
he  should  stand  by  and  watch  that  same  step-brother's 
spoliation  of  the  means  of  existence.  It  was  only  rational 
that  Hendrik  should  step  forward  and  claim  his  turn. 

And  then,  suddenly,  he  understood  that  it  was  impossible 
that  this  thing  should  happen,  impossible,  absurd.     Such 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  399 

monstrosities  did  not  take  place.  He  laughed  aloud  to  him- 
self at  the  absurdity  of  the  idea,  the  hideous  absurdity. 
Somebody  looked  round  at  him  in  passing,  and  said  :  "  Well, 
Lossell,  what  is  it  ?  Give  us  the  benefit  of  the  joke  !  "  lie 
awoke  to  the  fact  that  he  was  standing,  in  the  full  daylight, 
on  the  busy  market-j^lace  by  the  Great  Church,  and  that  an 
acquaintance  had  just  gone  by. 

He  shook  himself  together,  and  looked  about  him.  And 
his  eyes  travelled  slowly  up  the  lofty  tower  of  the  sacred 
building,  which  rose  calm  and  pure  into  the  pale  blue  sky. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  feeling  it  called  up  in  him  increased  the 
discord  of  his  thoughts,  for  he  laughed  again,  only  softly 
this  time,  under  his  breath. 

"  I  must  act,"  he  said.  "  Act.  Do  something.  That 
is  why  Pillenaar  sent  for  me.  I  do  not  believe  that  Hen- 
drik  has  taken  Elias's  money.  There  must  be  some  mistake, 
or  some  other  explanation.     And  I  must  find  it.     At  once." 

Then  he  went  back  to  the  Ofiice. 

"  Is  Mynheer  Hendrik  come  back  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,  Mynheer." 

"  Has  anybody  any  idea  where  he  is  ?  " 

"  No,  Mynheer." 

"  If  he  should  come  back,  tell  him  to  wait  for  me." 

"  Yes,  Mynheer." 

But  as  he  Avalked  away  again,  along  the  quay,  heedless 
of  lifted  caps  and  grinning  faces,  he  told  himself  that  this 
primary  search  for  Hendrik  was  useless.  Hendrik  would 
not  explain.  Hendrik  would  lie,  as  he  had  done  before. 
When  the  brothers  met,  Hubert  must  know.  He  must  be 
in  possession  of  the  facts  of  the  case. 

"  I  shall  go  to  Amsterdam,"  he  decided.  "  I  should  have 
done  it  sooner.     When  I  first  thought  of  that  way." 

By  "  tliat  way  "he  meant  an  inquiry  at  headquarters, 
whether  the  great  sums  invested  in  Elias's  name  in  Govern- 
ment securities — "inscribed  in  the  Great  Book  of  the 
National  Debt,"  as  they  call  it — were  still  intact.     Almost 


400  GOD'S  FOOL. 

all  Elias's  property  was  thus  "  inscribed,"  and  it  is  difficult 
to  get  at  money  so  entrusted  to  the  State.  Hubert  would 
have  sooner  investigated  the  actual  condition  of  his  step- 
brother's fortune,  had  he  not  shrunk  from  the  possible 
scandal  Avliich  any  steps  on  his  part  might  call  forth. 
Besides,  he  had  not  till  now  believed  the  danger  to  be  so 
imminent.  Granted  that  Hendrik  had  used  a  certain  sum 
as  security  to  help  him  in  the  speculative  purchase  of  stock 
(and  probably  the  amount  was  much  exaggerated  by  report), 
yet  such  malversations,  though  they  might  lead  to  a  deficit, 
did  not  mean  ruin.  The  newly  acquired  funds  would  al- 
ways furnish  a  relative  guarantee,  and  Hendrik  would  be 
compelled  in  a  day  or  two  to  wind  up  his  Stock  Exchange 
transactions  and  give  an  account  of  his  administration. 
He  would  doubtless  be  able  to  do  so,  Hubert  had  thought, 
for  Hubert,  although  he  disapproved  of  the  South  Sumatra 
speculation,  could  not  deny  that  it  had  bidden  fair  to  be- 
come a  financial  success.  He  had  waited,  therefore,  with  a 
certain  amount  of  confidence.  At  the  bottom  of  his  heart 
he  had  felt  that  the  discovery  of  a  slight  deficit  would  not 
be  altogether  unpalatable  to  him,  as  it  would  doubtless 
enable  him  to  get  himself  appointed  curator.  He  was  sur- 
prised to  discover,  on  looking  back,  how  small  the  danger 
now  seemed  which  he  had  thought  so  terrible  a  few  hours 
ago. 

The  time  was  gone  by  for  nice  distinction  and  delicate 
reticence.  It  is  true  that  a  breath  of  distrust  on  the  clear 
surface  of  a  merchant's  commercial  credit  may  bring  ruin, 
but  what  matters  that  consideration  when  a  storm  is  already 
shaking  the  foundations  of  his  house  ?  Hubert  looked  at  his 
watch  again.  He  had  constantly  done  so,  often  without 
noticing  what  it  was  intended  to  tell  him.  He  now  saw 
that  he  could  hurry  across  to  Amsterdam,  immediately.  He 
had  just  time  to  catch  a  train.  He  forgot  all  about  his  wife, 
who  would  be  expecting  him  in  vain. 

He  reached  the  station  at  the  last  moment  and  jumped 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  401 

into  an  empty  compartment,  non-smoking,  so  as  to  escape 
the  companionship  of  other  business  men.  But,  just  as  the 
train  was  preparing  to  depart  and  his  solitude  seemed 
pretty  well  assured,  the  door  was  again  thrown  open,  and  a 
lady  was  hurried  in.  He  knew  her,  and  she  was  a  very 
voluble  lady.  She  told  him  all  about  her  nearly  missing 
the  train,  and  the  annoyance  it  would  have  caused  her,  and 
the  reception  at  the  General's,  to  which  she  had  been.  "  I 
saw  your  sister-in-law  there,"  she  said.  "  One  is  really  sur- 
prised to  discover  into  what  a  handsome  woman  she  has 
developed.  But,  then,  she  dresses  so  exquisitely,  and  that  is 
a  great  thing.  Her  dresses  are  costly,  as  if  she  did  not  care 
what  she  pays  for  them,  and  tasteful,  as  if  she  reckoned  out 
every  item  herself.     Do  you  not  think  so  ?  " 

Hubert,  though  he  answered  her  in  monosylla'bles,  yet 
had  to  pay  some  attention  to  what  she  was  saying,  for  she 
was  one  of  those  provoking  rattles,  who,  while  they  never 
allow  you  to  make  a  remark  of  your  own,  yet  insure  your 
listening  to  their  monotonous  clatter  by  pausing  from  time 
to  time  with  a  sudden  question  or  appeal.  After  Hubert 
had  answered  "  Yes  "  to  her  inquiry  about  the  number  of 
his  children,  he  felt  that  he  must  listen  with  one  ear,  if  he 
could.  All  the  time,  however,  he  was  uninterruptedly  think- 
ing :  "  It  is  impossible.  It  is  too  utterly  absurd.  Such 
things  are  not.  I  shall  find  out  in  Amsterdam  that  it  is  not 
true." 

Upon  reaching  the  metropolis,  he  drove  straight  to  the 
insignificant  building  which  is  set  apart  as  a  Temple  of 
Xational  Thriftlessness.  The  complicated  nineteenth-cent- 
ury State  has  at  least  a  proper  sense  of  its  dignity.  To 
beg  it  is  ashamed.     It  only  borrows. 

The  streets  were  noisy  with  constant  traffic,  bright  with 
reflections  from  the  westering  sun.  Hubert  pulled  down 
the  blinds  of  his  cab  impatiently.  And  then  he  remem- 
bered that  their  clear  green  in  the  l)ril]iant  light  would 
2(i 


402  GOD'S  FOOL. 

attract  general  attention,  and  he  hastily  pushed  them  np 


again. 


The  Bureaux  were  closed  for  the  day.  Tliat  Hubert 
had  already  foreseen.  He  had  intended  from  the  first  to 
address  himself  directly  to  a  high  functionary,  connected 
with  the  administration,  whom  he  happened  slightly  to  know. 
The  man  was  a  connection  of  his  mother's.  To  avoid  person- 
alities, he  must  be  alluded  to  in  these  pages  as  Mynheer  B. 

"  But  is  Mynheer  B.  perhaps  still  in  the  building  ? " 
queried  Hubert. 

No ;  Mynheer  B.  had  left  half  an  hour  ago.  He  had 
probably  gone  home. 

Hubert  bade  the  cabman  drive  to  the  official's  private 
address. 

"  Not  at  home,"  said  the  servant  there. 

"  But  where,"  cried  Hubert  from  the  cab-window,  "  do 
you  think  Mynheer  can  be  ?  " 

The  servant — a  fat,  untidy  female — stood  in  the  door 
and  grinned. 

"Would  you  ask  your  mistress,  perhaps,"  suggested 
Hubert  mildly  ;  "  I  have  come  up  to  town  on  purpose  to  see 
him.     I  cannot  stay " 

Nor,  apparently,  could  the  maid,  for  at  the  first  men- 
tion of  her  mistress  she  retreated  down  the  passage  as  rapid- 
ly as  if  she  feared  that  Hubert  in  his  cab  might  be  mistaken 
for  a  follower.  Half-way  down  she  stoi)ped  suddenly,  remem- 
bered something,  came  back  again,  and  carefully  closed  the 
door. 

"  It  is  fate,"  said  Hubert,  and  sank  back  in  tlie  musty, 
velvet-cushioned  cab. 

If  it  was  fate,  then  the  untidy  servant  must  have  been 
Atropos — wasn't  it  Atropos  who  cut  the  string? 

"  Back  to  the  station,"  said  Hubert.  And  the  cabman, 
who  cared  for  nothing  as  long  as  he  was  paid  by  the  hour, 
clambered  up  slowly  on  to  his  box  again  and  lumbered 
away. 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  403 

The  principal  streets  of  all  Dutch  towns  are  so  narrow 
that  foot-passengers,  even  when  they  keej)  close  to  the 
houses  (there  are  practically  no  pavements),  unavoidably 
stare  into  the  windows  of  every  carriage  that  squeezes  by. 
Solitary  progress  through  these  streets  in  a  vehicle  with 
many  windows  is,  therefore,  a  trying  ordeal  for  a  modest 
man.  Hubert  was  not  immodest,  as  a  rule,  but  at  this  mo- 
ment he  was  also  desperate.  And  there  is  nothing  Avliich 
makes  us  shrink  from  the  company  of  our  fellow-creatures 
so  much  as  our  desperation  among  their  indifference. 

He  lay  in  a  corner  of  the  roomy  four-wheeler  and  stared 
out  into  the  street  with  hot,  uninterested  eyes.  And  at  the 
slow  and  shaky  turning  of  a  corner,  the  face  he  had  been  in 
search  of  looked  straight  through  the  square  of  glass  into 
his  obscurity,  and.  recognised  him,— hesitated, — then  smiled, 
an  uncertain  smile  of  "  It  is  surely  he." 

The  sudden  blow  of  Hubert's  umbrella  broke  the  pane 
of  glass  behind  the  coachman.  He  was  out  in  the  street  in 
another  moment. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  Lossell,  I  fancied  it  was  you,"  said  the 
man  of  finance,  turning  around.  "  And  what  brings  you  to 
Amsterdam  ?  Out  for  a  lark,  I  suppose,  away  from  your 
wife  and  the  babies  ?  " 

Mynheer  B.  was  a  man  of  middle  age,  middle  height, 
and  medium  abilities.  His  whole  life  remained  naturally 
restricted  to  remembering  the  names  of  the  people  who  had 
lent  their  money  to  the.  State.  It  does  not  sound  attractive 
on  paper,  but  it  is  really  a  far  pleasanter  occupation  than 
remembering  the  names  of  your  own  creditors,  as  most  of 
us  are  obliged  to  do.  However,  Mynheer  B.  knew  that  a 
man  must  expand  his  intellect,  if  he  can.  And  so  he  made 
up  for  whatever  monotony  there  may  have  been  in  his  call- 
ing, by  the  play  of  a  pleasant  humour  oiatside  office-hours. 
Nobody  would  have  dreamed,  to  see  his  parchmenty  face 
and  orange  eye-balls  in  his  own  Department,  that  the  man 
could  laugh  after  four. 


404  GOD'S   FOOL. 

"  I  came  on  purpose  to  see  you,"  cried  Hubert. 

"  To  see  me  ?  That  is  unusually  kind.  I  did  not  know 
there  was  so  much  to  see  in  my  humble  persoii.  I  must 
tell  my  wife.     It  will  please  her." 

"  I  came  for  nobody's  pleasure,"  retorted  Hubert  sternly. 
"  I  have  just  a  few  minutes  before  my  train  leaves  again.  I 
can't  speak  in  the  street.  Will  you  do  me  the  favour  of 
coming  into  my  cab  for  a  moment  ?  " 

"  If  you  don't  drive  off  with  mc,"  answered  the  irre- 
pressible functionary.  "  Why  such  haste  ?  Let  us  take  a 
glass  of  bitters  at  the  cafe  over  yonder." 

He  dared  not  proffer  an  invitation  to  dinner,  for,  al- 
though he  might  be  head  of  his  own  Department,  yet  his 
wife  was  head  of  her  own  house. 

"  I  have  no  time.  I  shall  miss  my  train  as  it  is,"  said 
Hubert  hurriedly.  And  he  led  the  way.  So  the  cab  was 
drawn  into  a  side-street,  and  there  it  stood,  an  encumbrance 
to  traffic,  and  a  source  of  much  vexation  to  an  idle  police- 
man. "  There  could  be  no  better  place  for  the  most  secret 
conference,"  thought  Hubert,  as  they  got  in. 

But,  momentous  though  its  outcome  might  prove,  the 
conversation  in  itself  could  be  confined  to  a  few  simple 
questions  and  answers. 

"  I  merely  wanted  to  ask  you,"  began  Hubert  abruptly, 
"  whether  my  step-brother  Elias's  property,  as  inscribed 
in  your  registers,  has  been  augmented  or  diminished  of 
late." 

Whilst  driving  to  the  Bureaux  of  the  "  Great  Book,"  he 
had  thought  over  several  methods  of  indirectly  extracting 
the  information  he  wanted.  He  had  abandoned  them  all, 
and  now  ultimately  put  his  question  straight  out. 

'■'■'Do  you  ask  me  that?"  said  Mynheer  B.,  suddenly 
sobered,  for  this  was  "business." 

"Yes,"  replied  Hubert,  colouring  to  the  roots  of  his 
hair. 

"  And  yet  your  brother " 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  405 

"  I  ask  you,"  repeated  Hubert  vehemently.  He  cauglit 
his  breath.     "  Answer  me.     Quick  !  " 

"  Half  a  million  of  your  brother's  money  was  drawn  out  a 
few  days  ago.  That  is  to  say,  speaking  incorrectly,  I  am 
giving  you  the  real  value.  The  nominal  value,  at  seventy- 
nine  and  five-eighths " 

"  Never  mind  about  the  nominal  value,"  cried  Hu- 
bert. "  Half  a  million,  you  say  ?  Is  that  all  ?  Is  that 
all  ?  " 

"  My  dear  Lossell,"  exclaimed  B.,  as  much  alarmed  as 
his  questioner,  "  I  do  hope  there  has  been  no  fraud  !  It 
is  almost  impossible,  with  the  precautions  so  wisely  de- 
manded !  You  frighten  me !  Is  there  money  missing  ? 
Have  you  any  suspicions  ?  Who  is  this  Alers  ?  I  thought 
he  was  your  brother  Hendrik's  wife's  brother  ?  " 

"  Alers ! "  cried  Hubert,  casting  reticence  to  the  winds. 
"  Yes,  that  is  it.     Has  Alers  fetched  money  of  Elias's  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  sub-keeper  of  the  National  Purse. 
"  It  -was  he  who  came  for  the  half -million.  He  had  a  per- 
fectly legal  authority  and  Power  of  Attorney.  This  is 
terrible.  You  alarm  me  more  than  I  can  possibly  express. 
I  am  very  glad  now  that  we  hesitated  this  morning." 

"  How  '  hesitated  '  ?  "  asked  Hubert  quickly. 

"  A  fresh  application  was  made  this  very  morning  for 
the  transfer  of  another  million.  One  of  the  officials  noticed 
some  slight  inaccuracy  in  the  deed  which  had  escaped  his 
observation  before — hardly  an  inaccuracy ;  some  insignifi- 
cant word  was  illegible,  I  believe.  Payment  was  postponed 
till  to-morrow.  But,  I  entreat  of  you,  explain  to  me  what 
has  happened  " 

"  That  million,  then,"  stammered  Hubert,  "is  safe?" 

"  Yes,  or  there  would  not  have  been  much  left,  as  you 
know.  But,  once  more,  what  is  wrong  ?  I  assure  you  the 
Power  of  Attorney  was  perfectly  correct,  but  for  that  slip 
of  the  pen,  and  all  the  required  formalities  had  been  com- 
plied with." 


406  GOD'S  FOOL, 

"  Thank  God,"  said  Hubert  softly,  "  for  that  slip  of  the 
pen." 

"  But  do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  cried  B.,  literally  danc- 
ing up  and  down  with  excitement  on  the  cab-cushions, 
"  that  the  other  half -million  has  gone  astray  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Hubert,  somewhat  recollecting  himself, 
though  too  tardily.  "  But  I  do  not  trust  Alers,  and  regret 
that  Hendrik  should  have  chosen  him  to  act  as  proxy  for 
either  of  us.  It  is  all  right,  of  course :  but  I  regret  the 
choice." 

"  Still,  my  dear  Lossell,  I  do  not  understand " 

"  I  must  be  off  immediately,  if  I  am  to  catch  my  train. 
I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  information.  It  all 
comes  out  just  as  I  thought." 

"  You  are  too  late  for  your  train  in  any  case,"  expostu- 
lated B.  "  There  is  another  which  will  bring  you  in  at 
eight.  You  had  much  better  take  that.  And  I  think  you 
owe  me  a  few  words  of  explanation." 

"  Nevertheless  I  must  try  to  catch  this  one."  Hubert 
called  to  the  coachman  and  opened  the  cab-door.  Mynheer 
B.  most  unwillingly  got  out. 

"  But,"  he  said,  with  his  hand  on  the  ledge,  "  what  am  I 
to  think  ?  Or  to  do  ?  If  the  application  be  renewed  to- 
morrow  " 

"  Kefuse  it,"  interrupted  Hubert  vehemently. 

"  How  can  we  unless  some  reason  for  so  doing  be  forth- 
coming  " 

"  Eefuse  it,"  repeated  Hubert.  "  Refuse  it.  I  tell  you, 
there  is  a  mistake."  The  horse  slowly  set  itself  in  motion. 
"  Drive  faster  ! "  he  shouted  to  the  coachman ; — and  then  to 
the  perplexed  gentleman,  left  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
narrow  street :  "  Refuse  it,"  he  cried.  "  Mind  this,  you  will 
hear  of  trouble  in  a  day  or  two,  and  Alers  will  be  at  the 
bottom  of  it.  He  has  been  up  to  some  mischief,  believe 
my  word !  " 

He  once  more  sank  back  into  his  corner,  as   the   cab 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  407 

daslied  off  towards  the  railway-station,  with  the  irregular 
swing  of  a  broken  gallop,  kept  up  by  continued  lashes  of 
the  whip.  He  knew  all,  then,  now,  all.  One  great  part 
of  Elias's  fortune  had  already  disappeared  in  the  vortex  of 
speculation.  The  rest  had  been  saved,  for  the  moment,  by 
the  merest  accident.  Doubtless,  the  purchase  of  the  fresh 
shares  had  been  resolved  on.  It  would  take  place  that 
evening.  And  to-morrow,  an  hour  or  two  before  the 
annual  meeting,  the  money  from  the  "  Great  Book  "  would 
have  to  be  provided  as  payment.  The  Power  of  Attor- 
ney was  in  the  hands  of — Alers.  "Within  twenty-four  hours 
the  news  would  be  all  over  Holland  that  the  shares  of  the 
South  Sumatra  Company  had  sunk  to  one  hundred  per 
cent.  The  great  venture  in  j^etroleum  had  also  come  to 
Hubert's  knowledge  by  the  merest  chance.  In  all  proba- 
bility it  was  by  no  means  the  only  one.  He  stared  wildly 
at  his  watch  lying  open  in  his  palm,  and  bit  his  lips  till 
they  bled.  If  he  missed  the  train,  he  would  not  be  back 
before  nightfall.  If  he  missed  the  train  !  Only  twenty- 
four  hours  longer,  and  Elias  was  reduced  to  hopeless  pov- 
erty, and  the  great  house  of  Volderdoes  Zonen  stood  bank- 
rupt— fraudulently  bankrujit — before  the  world ! 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  SWORD. 

"  Then,  have  yon  got  the  money  ?  "  said  Hendrik. 

"No,"  replied  Thomas,  turning  away  to  the  window, 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  beginning  to  whistle 
softly. 

"  No  ?  Not  got  it  ?  What  do  you  mean,  Alers  ?  Not 
got  it  ?  And  I  am  to  meet  Lankater  at  his  Notary's  in  a 
couple  of  hours ! "  Hendrik  started  up  from  the  sofa  in 
the  young  lawyer's  room  upon  which  he  had  been  reclining 
hitherto. 

"  Well,  I  haven't  got  it,"  repeated  Alers  sullenly.  "  He 
will  have  to  wait  for  it  some  twenty  hours  longer.     That  is 

all.     You  needn't  pitch  into  a  fellow  so.     You  are  d 

irascible,  Lossell." 

"  But  why  didn't  you  bring  it  back  from  Amsterdam 
this  morning?"  queried  Hendrik,  somewhat  mollified. 

"  Why  didn't  you  go  yourself  ?  "  asked  Alers  sneeringly. 
"  Things  aren't  always  as  easy  as  you  think  when  you 
haven't  done  them.  The  old  duffers  at  the  Consols  Depart- 
ment have  got  nothing  better  to  do  with  their  long  day 
than  to  go  turning  every  florin  in  their  hands  a  dozen  times 
over.  Lucky  for  you,  if  they  allow  the  transfer  in  the 
end." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  asked  Hendrik,  anxiously,  "  that 
there  were  difficulties  ?  " 

"  There  were,"  replied  Alers.  "  There  sometimes  are, 
Hendrik." 


THE  SHADOW  OP  THE  SWORD.  4(j9 

"  And  they  refused  to  allow  you  to  sell  out  ?  Then  it 
seems  to  me  that  nothing  is  left  us  but  to What  diffi- 
culties could  they  make,  Thomas  ?  I  never  heard  of  any 
before." 

"  There  had  been  none  last  week.  It  was  a  ridiculous 
trifle  about  the  signature  of  one  of  the  witnesses  not  being 
sufficiently  legible.  Merely  a  got-up  excuse,  I  believe,  if 
you  ask  me  for  my  private  opinion,  to  obtain  a  little  delay 
on  account  of  the  uimsual  largeness  of  the  sum." 

"  But  did  you  not  point  out  to  them  that  they  had  passed 
the  signature  last  time  ?  " 

"  No,  I  didn't,"  sneered  Thomas.  "  I  forgot  that  little 
item.  "Wasn't  it  stupid  of  me  ?  What  a  pity,  Hendrik, 
that  you  didn't  entrust  your  commission  to  as  great  a  fool 
as  yourself." 

Hendrik  remained  angrily  silent.  Presently  he  began 
again : 

"  It  was  not  only  last  week.  It  was  the  other  time  also 
— the  Transvaal  Syndicate  time,  when  the  deed  was  drawn 
up,  several  years  ago.  They  said  nothing  then.  I  cannot 
understand  it  at  all." 

"  Then  you  will  readily  forgive  my  not  tiring  my  head 
about  it,"  said  Alers,  his  face  once  more  turned  to  the  win- 
dow. "  To-morrow  morning  the  money  will  be  paid,  and 
that  must  suffice." 

"  I  shall  sell  all  the  shares  on  Monday,"  said  Hendrik. 

"  If  you  do  so,  Elias's  money  can  be  paid  in  again  in  a 
day  or  two." 

"  And  on  Tuesday  I  am  to  look  over  the  accounts  with 
Hubert." 

"  Oh,  anybody  could  fool  Hubert,"  said  Alers. 

"  And  in  a  week's  time,  God  willing,  I  shall  really  and 
actually  be  head  of  Volderdoes  Zonen." 

Hendrik  had  again  sunk  down  on  his  sofa.  Each  was 
occupied  with  his  own  thoughts.  They  were  pleasant  ones. 
For  each  felt  that,  although  he  still  stood  on  a  ledge  half- 


410  GOD'S    FOOL. 

way  down  the  abyss,  a  stout  rope  liung  over  his  head,  at  last, 
Avithiii  roach. 

"  I  cannot  yet  nnders'tand  about  that  signature,"  began 
Ilendrik,  after  a  long  pause.  "  I  remember  tlie  deed  being 
drawn  up  as  if  it  were  yesterday.  Show  me  it  for  a  moment, 
Tom.     You  have  got  it  there,  I  suppose." 

"  No,  I  haven't  got  it,"  said  Thomas. 

"  In  your  desk,  I  mean,  of  course.  You  are  awfully 
lazy.     You  have  only  got  to  reach  across." 

"  It  is  in  Amsterdam,"  said  Alers. 

"  Nonsense.  By-the-bye,  you  say  you  will  get  the  money 
to-morrow.  How  are  you  going  to  manage  that?  You 
can't  get  the  signature  changed." 

"  I  can  but  give  you  one  bit  of  advice,  Henky,"  said 
Alers,  facing  round  menacingly.  "  Take  it  to  heart.  The 
less  questions  you  ask  me,  the  better — for  yourself.  Go  and 
settle  your  contract  with  those  two  fellows  this  evening,  and 
pocket  your  profits  to-morrow,  and  keep  quiet." 

"  You  might  remain  civil,"  said  Hendrik.  "  The  matter 
surely  concerns  me  sufficiently  to  warrant  my  demanding 
information." 

"  It  does  not,"  replied  Alers  savagely.  "  You  are  con- 
tent to  pluck  the  fruits  which  others  point  out  to  you. 
You  have  no  business  to  inquire  how  they  were  ripened  so 
soon." 

His  manner  disquieted  Hendrik.  "  The  validity  of  the 
document  is  all  right,  I  suppose,"  he  said  anxiously.  "  Just 
fancy,  Alers,  if  there  were  some  fresh  difficulty  to-morrow. 
I  really  dare  not  settle  with  my  friends  this  evening,  unless 
I  understand  more  about  the  whole  matter  first.  I  sha'n't 
go."  He  crossed  his  arms.  "  I  wish  you  would  show  me 
the  Power  of  Attorney,  and  let  me  judge  for  myself." 

"  Have  your  way,"  burst  out  Alers  in  a  passionate 
whisper.  He  went  over  to  his  desk  and  unlocked  it.  "  There, 
take  it,"  he  said,  and  threw  across  a  small  roll  of  stamped 
paper  to  his  companion. 


THE  SHADOW  OP  THE  SWORD.  41 1 

Hendrik  took  the  document  and  unfolded  it  slowly.  He 
glanced  hastily  over  it,  and  then  up  at  Thomas,  his  eyes 
suddenly  dilated,  his  cheeks  blanched  by  alarm. 

Thomas  stood  staring  fixedly  down  at  him,  his  hands 
in  his  pockets,  his  lips  puckered  up  as  for  a  whistle  of  con- 
tempt. 

"  This  is  false,"  gasped  Hendrik  hoarsely.  And  then 
Thomas's  whistle  broke  forth,  long  and  low. 

"  It  isn't  the  original  deed  which  I  gave  you."  Hendrik 
went  on  hurriedly,  "  It's — it's  an  exact  imitation.  Only, 
the  dates  are  changed." 

Thomas  stopped  whistling,  "  You  did  not  know,"  he 
said,  still  in  the  same  savage  whisper,  "  that  these  papers 
are  only  available  for  a  limited  time." 

"  I  did.     But  you  told  me  they  could  be  prolonged." 

"  This  one  has  been  prolonged,"  said  Thomas  quietly. 

"  But  not  in  such  a  manner,  Thomas.     This — this  is  not 

a  prolongation  of  the  genuine  document.     This  is  a " 

He  hesitated. 

"  Well,  a  what  ?  "  asked  Alers  defiantly. 

"  A  forgery,"  murmured  Hendrik,  between  his  clenched 
teeth. 

The  word  seemed  to  exasperate  the  young  lawyer. 

"  Liar  and  coward  !  "  he  cried  aloud.  Hendrik  sprang 
to  his  feet.  "  Ah,  make  faces  at  me,  if  you  choose.  It  is 
only  I  who  am  to  bear  the  risk,  and  the  chief  profit  is  to  be 
yours.  You  knew — all  men  know — that  a  notary's  deeds 
cannot  obtain  fresh  validity  without  the  consent  of  all 
parties.  You  knew — all  men  know — that  the  dates  in  such 
deeds  are  inserted  in  writing  and  cannot  be  changed.  All 
this  you  knew,  and  yet  you  come  here  and  speak  smoothly 
of  "  not  understanding "  and  of  having  used  this  same 
paper  a  dozen  years  ago.  Liar  and  coward  again.  "What  a 
discovery  it  is  for  you  to  notice  so  suddenly  that  this  deed 
is  the  old  deed  recopied  with  tbe  necessary  alteration  of 
dates  ! "     lie,  who  ordinarily  prided  himself  on  the  curb 


412  GOD'S  FOOL. 

which  he  kept  on  his  temper,  was  literally  foaming  at  the 
mouth. 

"  I  did  not  know.  I  call  God  to  witness,"  stammered 
Heudrik,  thorouglily  taken  aback  by  this  outburst  of  rage. 
"  I  believed  you  had  hit  on  some  lawful  expedient.  I 
wanted  to  believe  it.  And  I  thought  you  lawyers  always 
could.  I  never  would  have  deemed  it  possible  for  a  mo- 
ment, Alers,  that  you  would  do  anything  which  would  bring 
you  within  the  grasp  of  the  law."  Alers  made  a  snatch  at 
the  document  on  hearing  these  words,  but  Lossell  drew 
back  his  hand  still  more  rapidly  and  clutched  the  paper 
tight. 

"  You  are  afraid,"  said  Alers  haughtily.  "  Of  course  I 
knew  that  all  along.  Was  I  not  right  just  now  in  the 
names  which  I  chose  for  you  ?  Do  not  let  us  quarrel  like 
two  children,  because  one  stops  'pretending.'  The  un- 
spoken understanding  has  been  perfect  between  us.  I  de- 
test explanations.  Did  I  not  advise  you  to  avoid  them? 
It  was  agreed  from  the  first — tacitly — that  I  was  to  do  the 
thing  and  you  were  to  profit  by  it.  We  arranged  as  much 
on  the  night  of  Cornelia's  charade." 

"  It  is  you  who  are  the  liar,"  cried  Ilendrik,  angry  in  his 
turn.  "  I  will  prove  to  you  immediately  that  I  have  been 
your  innocent  accomplice.  I  refuse  to  make  use  of  this 
deed  from  the  moment  that  I  know  of  its  existence.  I  at 
least  will  keep  free  from  the  grasp  of  the  law." 

Alers  saw  that  the  other  was  in  earnest.  "  Don't  be  a 
fool,  Ilendrik,"  he  said.  "  The  thing's  done,  and  there  was 
no  other  way  of  doing  it.    I  really  thought  you  knew  that." 

"  It  is  a  felony,"  said  Ilendrik.  "  How  could  you,  a 
lawyer,  commit  so  awful  a  crime  ?  " 

"  How  could  you,  a  Right  Worshipful,  rob  your  idiot 
brother  of  his  money  ?  That,  too,  is  a  crime,  if  you  come 
to  bandy  such  irritating  words." 

"  I  do  not  rob  Elias.  I  merely  borrow  his  money,  and 
restore  it  the  day  after,  with  interest." 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  SWORD.  41 3 

"  Nor  do  I  defraud  him.  I  only  repeat  his  original  dec- 
laration, and  spare  him  the  unmeaning  formality  of  sign- 
ing it  over  again." 

"  It  won't  loorJc"  said  Hendrik,  shaking  his  head.  "  I 
can't  do  it.  I  daren't,  if  you  like  that  better.  But  it  isn't 
that.  I  wo?i'^  commit  a  crime.  Do  you  hear  me?  IwojiH 
commit  a  crime." 

"  I  hear  you,"  said  Thomas.  "  You  needn't  scream,  like 
a  hysterical  woman.  Your  distinctions  between  right  and 
wrong  are  too  subtle  for  me.  But  you  will  have  to  stretch 
your  tender  conscience  a  little  in  this  case.  For  there's  two 
of  us  in  one  boat ;  remember  that.  I  am  not  going  to  be 
ruined,  because  of  your  studies  in  black  and  white,  Mynheer 
Hendrik." 

"  You  ?    Ruined  ?  "  cried  Hendrik. 

"  Yes.  Do  you  think  nobody  may  speculate  or  have 
debts  except  your  worshipful  self  ?  Have  you  scruples  of 
conscience  against  paying  me  my  twenty-five  per  cent.? 
That  little  paper  is  not  forged." 

"  I  had  forgotten,"  said  Hendrik. 

"Nothing  could  go  farther  to  determine  the  state  of 
your  mind  at  this  moment.  Come,  give  me  that  paper, 
and  stop  playing  the  parson  or  the  fool — it's  all  one,  you 
wolf  in  sheejj's  clothing." 

"  I  must  drive  out  to  Elias  at  once,"  said  Hendrik,  as  if 
speaking  to  himself.  "  What  a  mercy  it  is  that  I  kept  the 
carriage !  I  must  take  a  notary  and  get  witnesses.  I  had 
better  ask  Linx.  And  a  genuine  deed  must  be  made  out 
immediately,  in  which  my  name  must  replace  yours.  There 
is  no  time  to  bo  lost.  We  can  keep  it  from  Hubert  for  a 
couple  of  days.  Lankater  expects  me  at  nine,  but  will  wait. 
It  is  the  only  escape  left  to  us.  I  won't  use  that — that 
counterfeit  thing." 

"  As  you  like,"  said  Thomas  coolly.  "  Of  course,  your 
present  plan  is  simpler,  but  you  will  have  to  make  haste.  I 
wish  you  had  thought  of  it  sooner,  if  it  is  practicable  after 


414  GOD'S  FOOL. 

all.  That  counterfeit  thing  was  used  last  week,  by-the-bye. 
Ah,  true  ;  you  were  not  aware  of  that  circumstance.  Well, 
be  off,  if  you  must  fetch  Linx.  Give  me  back  that  paper 
before  you  go." 

"  No,"  said  Ilendrik,  liis  hand  on  the  door-handle.  He 
was  ready  for  flight.  "  I  shall  lock  up  this  little  document, 
Alers.  It  is  too  dangerous  in  your  hands,  and  it  may  al- 
ways come  in  useful,  should  you  recommence  your  tricks. 
You  are  far  more  clever  and  more— peculiar  than  I  thought, 
Thomas  Alers." 

The  last  words  he  called  out  as  he  was  already  running 
downstairs.  The  lawyer  dashed  after  him  with  a  fierce  im- 
precation. But  Hendrik,  half  frightened,  half  triumphant, 
was  too  quick  to  be  caught.     He  sprang  into  his  brougham. 

"  You  will  never  see  this  little  paper  again  until — until 
it  is  desirable  you  should,"  he  cried  in  French  through  the 
open  window  of  the  carriage  to  Thomas,  who  stood  irreso- 
lute on  the  doorstep.  "  And  be  careful,  or  I  shall  not  give 
you  your  fifteen  per  cent." 

The  diminution  was  intentional.  He  was  glad  to  be 
able  to  avenge  himself  on  his  brother-in-law  for  many 
taunts  and  insults.  And  why  should  he  pay  a  percent- 
age which  Alers  had  obtained  by  such  bare-faced  villainy  ? 
Why  should  he  recompense  him  at  all  ? 

The  lawyer  stood  out  in  the  street,  bareheaded,  and 
watched  the  little  carriage  hurrying  away.  He  struck  his 
open  hand  against  his  mouth  and  swore  another  awful  oath. 

"  I  must  have  that  paper  back  to-night,"  he  said.  "  Even 
if  I  kill  him  to  get  it !  " 


CHAPTER  XLVIIL 

SHOEMAKEK,   STICK   TO   THY    LAST. 

Aif  hour  later  Hendrik  Lossell  drove  up  to  Elias's  door. 
Linx,  tlie  Notary,  was  in  the  brougham  with  him.  Linx  is 
not  the  most  highly  honoured  among  the  numerous  notaries 
of  Koopstad. 

And  Linx's  confidential  clerk  also  came  slinking  out  of 
the  carriage,  although  the  little  brougham  was  in  fact  only 
made  to  hold  two.  Cornelia  had  expressly  vetoed  the  make- 
shift sliding-seat — the  "  strajaontin,"  as  the  French  call  it — 
which  renders  these  conveyances  uncomfortable  when  they 
belong  to  good-natured  people.  "  I  was  not  intended  by 
nature,"  said  Cornelia,  "  to  sit  on  a  strapontin." 

So  the  clerk,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  found  himself 
driving  in  a  private  carriage,  sandwiched  between  his  em- 
ployer and  one  of  the  merchant-princes  of  his  native  city. 
The  memorable  fact  was  squeezed  down  deep  into  his  soul. 
It  was  squeezed  so  tight  that  it  will  remain  there  to  his 
dying  day. 

On  the  box,  next  to  Chris  the  coachman,  sat  the  lame 
cobbler,  who  lives  opposite  to  Linx,  and  whom  that  gentle- 
man regularly  employs  as  a  witness.  The  man's  name  was 
in  all  the  papers  when  the  smallest  details  connected  with 
this  memorable  evening  were  subsequently  dragged  into  the 
light  of  newspaper  notoriety.  If  I  remember  right,  it  was 
— or  is — Iloman. 

"  We  had  much  better  all  go  together.  Mynheer  Los- 


416  GOD'S   FOOL. 

sell,"  Linx  had  said.  "A  cab  following  would  mean  a 
procession," 

"  So  be  it,"  said  Hendrik.  "  But  I  don't  want  to  do 
anything  wrong." 

Nonetheless  he  shuddered  involuntarily  as  he  crept  out 
of  the  carriage.  Or  perhaps  it  was  only  that  he  shook  him- 
self, after  having  sat  cramped  so  long.  The  evening 
shadows  were  already  falling  thick  and  heavy  over  the 
spruce  little  villa  and  its  outhouses.  The  sun  had  gone 
down,  and  a  white,  wet  mist,  such  as  often  follows  on  fine 
days  in  Holland,  even  in  spring,  was  creeping   up  on  all 

sides. 

"In  an  hour  or  so  cab  or  carriage  will  be  unrecog- 
nisable," said  the  Notary,  as  he  too  shook  himself— with 
him  it  must  have  been  a  physical  shake,  for  he  had  not 
shuddered  since  he  was  a  boy. 

Hendrik  cast  a  glance  at  the  light  on  the  second  floor. 
"  He  is  in  his  room,"  he  said.     "  We  will  go  up." 

But  in  the  hall  Johanna  met  them,  with  a  look  of  as- 
tonishment on  her  face,  for  unexpected  visitors  were  at  any 
hour  a  source  of  wonder  and  distrust  in  the  tranquil, 
monotonous  life  of  the  villa.  Hendrik  had  known  that  he 
would  come  into  contact  with  Johanna.  Did  anybody  ever 
penetrate  to  the  Fool,  otherwise  than  after  this  portly 
guardian  angel  of  sixty  had  stood  aside  from  the  carefully 
shielded  door  ? 

"  Gentlemen  from  the  '  Tribunal,'  "  said  Hendrik  hur- 
riedly, with  a  wave  of  the  hand.  "  We  can  go  up  stairs,  I 
suppose,  to  Elias  ?  " 

Johanna  was  full  of  fearsome  respect  for  the  "  Lords  of 
the  Court,"  as  she  called  them.  She  bowed  low,  but  she 
ventured  on  a  protest.  "  Myn  Heer  is  in  his  room,"  she 
said.  "  I  had  understood  the  Heeren  Judges  were  to  come 
on  Monday." 

"  These  are  not  the  same,"  replied  Hendrik,  as  he  led 
the  way.     "  The  investigation  of  Elias's  state  of  health  will 


SHOEMAKER,  STICK  TO  TEY  LAST.  417 

take  place  on  Monday."  He  opened  the  door  of  his 
brother's  sitting-room  and  went  in,  the  others  following. 
But  he  shut  the  door  on  Johanna. 

"  Who  is  there  ? "  said  Elias.  He  was  sitting  in  his 
chair  by  a  small  fire  which  burned  brightly  in  the  open 
hearth.  There  was  no  lamp  in  the  room — why  should 
there  be? — only  the  flicker  of  the  flames.  Elias  was 
playing  spillikens  by  himself  in  the  dark.  A  large  white 
cat  lay  purring  in  the  warmth.  The  canaries  and  the 
parrot  were  asleep  in  their  cages.  And  the  light  from  the 
fire  struck  sparkling  against  parts  of  the  parrot's  big  brass 
cage,  and  against  a  looking-glass  at  the  far  end  of  the  large 
room,  and  lingered  in  softer  reflections  round  the  golden 
head,  which  turned  inquiringly  towards  the  open  door. 

Unavoidably  there  was  something  uncanny  in  Elias's 
appearance  and  surroundings,  a  something  which  filled  you 
with  j^ity  not  untouched  by  awe.  He  was  so  lonely,  so 
Avalled-in  on  every  side,  so  strangely,  enforcedly  serene. 

At  this  moment  even  Hendrik  shrank  back.  The 
others,  huddled  in  the  doorway,  remained  wondering. 

"  Who  is  there?"  repeated  Elias,  a  note  of  alarm  in  his 
voice.     "  Visitors  ?    Who  is  it  ?  " 

Hendrik  went  up  to  him,  and  told  him  it  was  he. 
"And  now  let  us  make  haste,"  he  added,  turning  to  the 
Notary.     "  We  have  only  to  get  the  deed  correctly  signed." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  Notary.  "  Correctly  signed.  Will 
you  kindly  therefore  briefly  communicate  its  contents  to 
Mynheer  Elias  Lossell  ?  " 

Hendrik  hastily  lighted  a  couple  of  candles  on  the 
mantelpiece,  and,  sitting  down  beside  his  brother,  began  to 
speak  into  his  hand.  The  other  three  men  stood  watching 
him,  the  cobbler  in  the  background,  in  the  shade. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  interrupted  the  Notary.     "  Excuse 

me.     I  will  read  out  the  document  first  to  the  witnesses,  if 

you  please."     He  held  the  paper  towards  the  light  of  the 

candles  and  quickly  ran   through  it.     It  was  very  short. 

27 


418  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Half-way,  Hendrik  started  up,  and,  crossing  to  the  door, 
suddenly  threw  it  open.  Johanna  stood  betrayed  in  the 
glare  of  the  passage.  "  Get  away,"  cried  Hendrik  with  an 
oath.  "  Don't  you  trust  me  with  my  own  brother  ?  "  And 
he  banged-to  the  door  again. 

Johanna  did  not  trust  him — least  of  all  after  this  out- 
hurst.  She  remained  in  great  peri:)lexity  of  mind.  She 
wished  Hubert  were  here,  but  she  shrank  from  the  publicity 
of  sending  John  to  fetch  him.  Ultimately  she  wound  her- 
self up  to  such  a  pitch  of  meaningless  anxiety,  as  she  sat 
waiting  and  listening  downstairs,  that  she  resolved  to  go 
and  fetch  him  herself.  It  was  some  little  way  to  his  house 
in  the  city,  but  no  harm  could  come  to  Elias  for  the  mo- 
ment. All  that  she  feared  was  that  they  would  make  him 
sign  something — but  what?  Hendrik  was  careful  enough 
of  the  money  he  hoped  to  inherit.  She  did  not  know  what 
she  feared,  but  she  wished  Hubert  to  be  apprised  that  these 
gentlemen  were  with  Elias.  She  called  John  and  bade  him 
listen,  if  his  master  wanted  anything.  "  She  Avas  going 
into  the  village.  She  would  be  back  in  a  few  moments." 
John  stared  but  said  nothing,  and  presently  he  went  back 
to  the  kitchen  and  shut  its  door,  so  that  nobody  should  see 
he  was  playing  cards  with  the  gardener. 

"Abominably  curious  all  these  old  women  are,"  said 
Hendrik,  as  he  resumed  his  seat.  To  himself  he  added : 
"  She  is  sure  to  cross-question  Elias  the  moment  we  are 
gone !  "  and  he  took  this  into  account,  when  he  once  more 
began  speaking  to  his  brother. 

Elias  sat  following  the  touches  on  his  hand.  And  the 
three  men  stood  and  watched. 

Suddenly  a  low  voice  broke  the  oppressive  silence. 
"  The  gentleman  is  not  saying  it  right,"  it  said.  Hendrik 
started  and  stared  into  the  darkness,  his  white  face  close  to 
his  brother's,  restless  with  alarm. 

"  AVhat  do  you  mean — you — fellow  ?  "  he  cried.  It  was 
the  lame  cobbler  who  had  spoken. 


SHOEMAKER,  STICK  TO  THY  LAST.  41 9 

"  The  gentleman  is  not  saying  it  right,"  repeated  the 
cobbler,  taking  no  notice  of  Hendrik  and  addressing  the 
lawyer.  "I  know  the  alphabet;  my  sister's  dumb.  His 
siofns  are  a  good  deal  different,  but  I  can  understand  him. 
He  is  telling  the  other  gentleman  that  some  gentlemen  are 
coming  to  see  him,  if  he  will  write  and  ask  them  to 
come." 

"  Oh,  Mynheer  Lossell ! "  said  the  Notary  reproachfully. 

"  Well,  Avliat  can  I  do  ?  "  burst  out  Hendrik  in  French. 
"  If  I  tell  him  the  truth,  this  old  hag  and  my  brother  will 
be  imagining  all  sorts  of  mischief.  I  give  you  my  word  I 
intended  to  tell  him.  The  woman  put  this  idea  in  my 
head ! " 

"  I  understand  French,"  said  the  cobbler  in  the  same 
'  impersonal '  voice.  "  I  learnt  my  trade  in  Brussels.  My 
wife's  Belgian." 

"Hold  your  tongue,"  cried  Linx,  turning  sharply  on 
him.  "  You  needn't  tell  everybody  what  you  understand  or 
don't.    I  am  well  aware  you  know  a  little  French." 

And  so  Hendrik,  biting  his  lips  under  the  humiliation, 
had  to  tell  his  brother,  with  the  lame  cobbler's  eyes  fixed  in- 
tently on  his  fingers,  that  Elias's  signature  was  wanted  for 
a  change  in  the  administration  of  the  property. 

"  What  is  going  to  be  done  with  my  money  ? "  asked 
Elias — to  everyone's  surprise.  The  JsTotary  looked  anxious. 
He  had  believed  the  rich  Lossell  to  be  utterly  imbecile. 
Hendrik  would  have  liked  to  reply :  "  It  is  going  to  be  given 
to  the  poor,"  but  he  dared  not,  both  on  account  of  Johanna's 
imminent  return,  and  on  account  of  the  lame  cobbler  watch- 
ing yonder. 

"  Nothing  is  to  be  done  with  it,"  he  said.  "  It  is  going 
to  be  taken  away  from  one  gentleman  who  has  the  care  of 
it  and  given  to  another." 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  answered  Elias,  "  Hubert  told  me.  But 
I  don't  understand.  I  thought  that  you  took  care  of  it. 
And  that  you  gave  away  what  you  could  of  it  to  the  poor." 


420  GOD'S   FOOL. 

"  Yes,  3'cs ;  so  I  do."  He  turned  to  the  Notary,  wlio,  at 
any  rate,  had  heard  Elias's  replies.  "  You  see  how  hopeless 
it  is  !  "  he  said. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  answered  the  Notary  gravely. 

"  I  don't  understand,"  repeated  Elias.  "  I  would  rather 
not  sign  anything.     Hubert  said  I  was  not  to." 

"  You  must,"  Hendrik  spelt  quickly,  Avith  trembling 
fingers.  He  bent  forward  so  as  to  hide  them  from  the 
light. 

"  The  gentleman  says  '  you  must,' "  proclaimed  the 
cobbler's  monotonous  voice  out  of  the  darkness, 

"  Mynheer  Lossell,"  said  Linx  with  an  impatient  frown, 
"  I  cannot  draw  up  this  deed." 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Hendrik,  sjiringing  from  his  chair. 

"  I  very  much  regret  causing  you  any  annoyance,  but  I 
am  unable  to  draw  up  this  deed." 

At  a  glance  Hendrik  Lossell  took  in  the  facts  of  the 
case.  "  Very  well,"  he  said  stiffly.  "  I  do  not  press  you. 
There  is  some  mistake  on  your  part.  Am  I  to  consider 
this  extraordinary  decision  irrevocable  ?  " 

"  I  am  exceedingly  sorry,  but  your  brother  does  not,  at 
tlie  present  moment,  appear  to  require  my  assistance." 

"  My  can-iage  will  take  you  as  far  as  the  city  gate,  Myn- 
heer Linx." 

"  I  don't  want  to  give  you  my  money,  Hendrik,"  said 
Elias,  speaking  with  great  decision.  "  I  don't  think  I  can, 
please.     Hubert  says  I  oughtn't  to." 

Mynheer  Linx  paused  by  the  ojaen  brougham-door  and 
beckoned  the  lame  cobbler  towards  him. 

"  Shoemaker,  stick  to  thy  last,"  he  said.  And  then  he 
got  into  the  carriage. 

Hendrik  remained  alone  with  Elias.  He  stood,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  hearth,  gazing  moodily  at  the  sitting 
figure  in  front  of  him.  "  What  now  ?  "  he  asked  himself. 
In    his  breast-pocket  he  felt  the    forged    deed,   Thomas 


SHOEMAKER,  STICK  TO   THY   LAST.  421 

Alers's  fabrication.  Lankater  and  Dr.  Pillenaar's  son-in-law 
would  be  waiting  for  liim.     He  must  make  haste. 

How  he  hated  that  big,  useless  lump  of  torpid  flesh, 
which  lay  ceaselessly  blocking  uj)  his  road.  At  every  step, 
from  youth  upward — for  the  last  dozen  years — this  wretched 
creature  had  made  his  life  a  burden  to  him.  Wealth, 
greatness,  boundless  prosjierity,  everything  would  have  been 
his  but  for  this  step-brother.  And  now  he  had  nothing ; 
nothing  but  unending  anxiety  and  hard  work  ;  all  the  labour 
and  little  of  the  fruit.  "  I  am  this  fool's  slave,"  he  said, 
"  his  life-slave." 

"  Hendrik,"  began  Elias,  "  why  did  you  tell  me  you  had 
given  my  money — as  much  of  it  as  you  could — to  the 
poor  ?" 

Hendrik  laughed  aloud.  He  vouchsafed  the  fool  no 
answer. 

"  Why  did  you,  Hendrik '?  It  was  very  wrong  of  you. 
Hubert  says  it  is  there  still.  He  says  it  mustn't  be  given 
away.  But  you  shouldn't  have  lied  to  me  about  it.  And  I 
thought  I  was  like  Christ." 

Still  no  answer. 

"  Why  don't  you  answer  me  ? "  cried  Elias  angrily. 
"  And  why  do  you  say  I  must  let  you  have  it  ?  Hubert  says 
I  mustn't.  He  says  you  would  not  keep  up  Volderdoes 
Zonen.  Hendrik,  is  it  true  that  you  are  harming  Voider- 
does  Zonen  ?  " 

Still  no  answer. 

"Who  is  there?"  screamed  Elias  suddenly,  starting 
from  his  seat.  "  There  is  somebody  in  the  room  besides 
Hendrik.     Why,  it  isn't  you,  is  it  ?  " 

But  someone — or  something — struck  him  a  violent  blow 
on  the  forehead,  and  sent  him  tumbling  l)ack  into  his  chair. 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 

Hubert's  deliverance. 

It  was  a  quarter  past  eight  when  Hubert,  footsore  and 
weary,  rang  the  bell  at  his  own  house-door.  A  maid-serv- 
ant opened  it,  and,  as  she  stood  aside  to  let  him  pass,  the 
light  from  the  gas-lamp  in  the  hall  fell  upon  Johanna's 
waiting  figure.  "  It  won't  be  my  master,"  the  girl  had  said 
in  passing.     "  He  has  a  latch-key." 

"  You  here "  cried  Hubert,  starting  back. 

Johanna  came  forward.  "  Yes,  Mynheer  Hubert,"  she 
said.  "  I  wanted  to  ask  you  something,  if  you  don't  ob- 
ject." 

"  Come  into  this  room,"  said  Hubert  quickly.  "  No, 
into  this."  He  stopped  in  front  of  the  hall-clock.  "  Twenty 
minutes  past  eight,"  he  said.     "  I  came  back  by  the  8.7." 

Margaret  came  out  into  the  hall.  "  My  dear  boy,"  she 
said  in  English,  "  what  has  happened  ?  Where  have  you 
been  all  day  ?  " 

"  I  had  to  go  to  Amsterdam  on  business,"  he  answered 
in  Dutch.     "  I  came  back  by  the  8.7." 

"  Well,  you  must  have  some  dinner  immediately.  I  have 
rung  for  it  to  be  sent  up." 

"  I  must  hear  Johanna  first. — What  is  it,  Johanna  ? 
What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Let  her  come  into  the  dining-room,  and  talk  to  you 
while  you  eat." 

"  No,  no,"  said  Hubert.  "  I  will  be  with  you  in  a  mo- 
ment." He  pushed  Johanna  into  a  dark  room.  "  Anything 
wrong  with  Elias  ?  "  he  asked. 


HUBERT'S  DELIVERANCE,  423 

Then  Johanna  told  him  why  she  had  come.  It  sounded 
very  foolish,  she  thought,  now  she  gave  expression  to  her 
fear.  The  gentlemen  were  with  Myn  Heer.  She  did  not 
like  the  gentlemen  to  be  with  Myn  Heer,  and  Meneer  Hu- 
bert not  to  know. 

"  Quite  right,"  said  Hubert,  who  had  been  listening  in- 
tently, while  he  paced  rapidly  up  and  down  in  the  dark. 
"  Quite  right.  I  cannot  imagine  what  these  persons  should 
want  with  your  master.  Mynheer  Hendrik  is  there  also, 
you  say  ?  I  will  go  back  with  you,  as  soon  as  I  have  had  a 
morsel  to  eat." 

"  It  is  already  late,"  began  Johanna  hesitatingly.  "  The 
gentlemen  came  before  half-past  seven " 

"  Mevrouw  would  never  forgive  me,  if  I  ran  oiit  again 
without  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  rest.  You  make  yourself  un- 
necessarily anxious,  Johanna.  How  could  there  be  anything 
wrong,  with  Mynheer  Hendrik  there  ?  " 

Johanna  could  not  answer  this. 

"  Come  into  the  dining-room — and  talk  to  Mevrouw, 
while  I  get  ready."  He  led  the  way,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  follow. 

He  found  the  other  room  brilliantly  lighted. 

"  Turn  the  gas  down,  please,"  he  said ;  "  it  hurts  my 
eyes." 

He  sat  down  to  table,  with  his  wife  facing  him,  and 
Johanna  on  a  chair  near  the  wall.  But  presently  he  pushed 
his  plate  away. 

"  I  can't  eat,"  he  said,  "  with  you  staring  at  me  all  the 
while." 

"  Shall  we  go  into  the  drawing-room  till  you  have 
done  ?  "  proposed  Margaret. 

"  Oh  no,  stay  here.  I  am  not  hungry.  I  am  over-tired. 
What  a  day  it  has  been  !  " 

"  You  had  hoped  to  come  home  earlier,"  said  Marga^'ct. 

"  Yes,  I  had  intended  to  come  back  by  the  train  which 
gets  in  at  7.27.     I  just  missed  it." 


42i  GOD'S  FOOL. 

"  It  is  a  horrible,  dark,  misty  night,"  said  Margaret. 
"  No  weather  for  you  to  be  out  on  foot,  Johanna,  after  sun- 
set." 

The  old  woman  shrusfged  her  shoulders. 

"  It  is  God's  weather,"  she  said,  "  I  do  not  mind  it.  And 
I  am  careful  of  my  steps." 

"  It  is  not  so  dark  but  that  you  can  see  if  you  choose," 
interposed  Hubert  impatiently.  "  I  have  eaten  enough, 
Meg.  Well,  enough  for  my  taste.  There  are  things  that 
worry  one  and  destroy  one's  appetite." 

"  I  know  it,"  she  admitted  sympathetically. 

At  that  moment  there  came  a  violent  ring  at  the  hall- 
bell.  Johanna  started  to  her  feet,  her  ruddy  face  whitening 
with  sudden  terror.     "  Myn  Heer !  "  she  stammered. 

Voices  were  heard  outside.  A  man  was  pushing  his  way 
forward.  "  I  must  see  your  master,"  they  heard  him  say  in 
excited  tones,  "  at  once." 

"  Oh,  what  can  it  be  ?  "  cried  Margaret,  running  to  the 
door. 

Elias's  coachman  burst  into  the  room. 

"  Mynheer,  Mynheer,"  he  said,  "  you  must  come  im- 
mediately." He  stopped  abruptly  at  sight  of  the  women. 
But  then  he  went  on  thick  and  fast— delighted,  after  all,  as 
people  are,  to  be  the  bearer  of  tremendous  news :  "  You 
must  come,  Mynheer !  Mynheer  Hendrik  is  lying  murdered 
in  the  Villa.  They  found  him  murdered  in  Mynheer  Elias's 
room." 

Johanna  broke  into  shrieks  and  sobs  and  ejaculations. 
Margaret  sank  into  a  chair,  white  and  still.  Hubert  retained 
his  seat  at  the  table,  his  face  sunk  on  his  hands. 

After  a  few  moments  of  breathless  expectation  he  lifted 
it.  It  was  composed,  but  that  the  eyes  were  misty  with 
horror.     He  looked  towards  his  wife.     "  Alers  ?  "  he  said. 


CHAPTER    L. 

ELIAS'S   GUILT. 

When"  Elias  came  to  himself  after  a  few  moments  of 
dreamy  dozing — he  could  not  have  told  exactly  how  long — 
he  slowly  remembered  that  something  was  wrong — then, 
suddenly,  in  a  flash,  that  he  had  been  struck. 

He  had  never  been  struck  in  his  life  before.  He  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  leaped  forward — straight  in  front  of  him, 
in  the  direction  whence  the  blow  had  seemed  to  come.  His 
heart  and  brain  were  aflame  with  a  white  fury.  He  knew 
nothing,  thought  of  nothing,  remembered  nothing  but  this 
one  fact  of  the  insult,  the  injustice,  the  wound  !  Struck  ! 
He  towered  high  in  all  the  maimed  majesty  of  his  powerful 
manhood  and  dashed  out  his  great  arm  to  return  the  blow. 
First,  in  the  dark  of  his  blindness  and  his  passion,  he  flung 
up  against  one  of  the  candlesticks,  which  he  bore  crashing 
to  the  ground,  but  then,  turning  swiftly,  he  aimed  straight 
at  the  man  seated  on  the  other  side  of  the  mantelpiece,  at 
his  enemy,  at  Hendrik,  and  struck  again  and  again,  fierce, 
herculean  blows,  not  pausing  to  think  of  what  he  was  doing, 
not  able  to  realize  it,  had  he  done  so,  driven  onward  only  by 
the  unreasoning  animal  instinct  of  reprisal  and  the  manlier 
thirst  for  revenge.  His  opponent,  to  his  astonishment — 
even  in  that  whirlwind  of  madness — offered  no  resistance, 
but  sank  away  from  under  his  hands  to  the  ground.  Then 
Elias  paused,  and  drew  back ;  and  a  moment  later  he  sank 
down  on  his  knees  and  tried  to  raise  the  other's  head,  and 
broke  into  loud  cries  for  assistance.     John,  in  the  kitchen. 


426  GOD'S  FOOL. 

flung  down  his  cards,  smitten  by  sudden  reproach,  and 
came  running  upstairs  as  fast  as  he  could.  He  threw  open 
the  door  and  rushed  forward,  alarmed,  indeed,  by  the  sight 
which  met  his  eyes.  The  candles  of  the  fallen  candlestick 
had  alighted  on  a  sheepskin  hearth-rug  and  set  it  ablaze, 
and  by  the  glaring  flames,  which  danced  gaily  aloft,  Hen- 
drik's  figure  lay  clearly  illumined,  stretched  across  the  floor, 
with  a  dark  stain  beside  it  on  the  carpet.  By  his  brother's 
side  knelt  Elias,  his  face  distorted,  his  fair  curls  thrown 
back,  his  great  eyes  glaring  into  space. 

Ignoring  the  flames  for  the  first  moment,  John  ran  to 
raise  the  wounded  merchant,  who  had  fallen  on  his  face. 
He  turned  the  body  to  the  light  of  the  burning  rug,  but 
hardly  had  he  done  so,  when  he  again  let  it  fall,  and  also 
broke  into  loud  cries  for  help,  as  he  ran  back  to  the  door. 

In  another  instant  the  whole  house  was  in  commotion, 
and  a  few  minutes  sufficed  to  convey  the  tidings  to  the 
neighbouring  cottages.  The  conflagration  was  soon  extin- 
guished, but  the  dead  man  was  left  lying  where  he  had 
fallen,  none  daring  to  touch  him  till  the  police  had  arrived. 
The  coachman,  coming  back  in  amazement  and  distress,  to 
look  for  the  master  he  had  lost,  was  met  by  a  crowd  with 
the  news.  Hubert  was  sent  for,  and  he,  fortunately,  brought 
Johanna  with  him.  No  one  as  yet  had  thought  of  carrying 
the  news  to  Cornelia.  Besides,  that  would  have  been  use- 
less.    Cornelia  had  gone  with  a  friend  to  the  Opera. 

Elias  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  room.  No  one  dared  to 
approach  him  or  attempted  to  address  him.  After  the  first 
moment  of  excitement  he  had  sunk  into  apathy.  His  eyes 
were  closed.     And  he  neither  moved  nor  spoke. 

Doctors  came,  and  policemen,  and  hurried  in  and  out. 
The  policemen's  faces  were  sternly  elated,  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  stroke  of  first-class  business  on  hand.  The 
medical  men  looked  more  frightened,  but  also  grave  and 
methodical,  impressed,  in  their  way,  by  the  same  conviction 
of  business  to  be  done.     When  Hubert  came,  he  first  said 


ELIAS'S  GUILT.  427 

he  did  not  want  to  see  the — the  body — was  it  necessary? — 
and  then  he  asked  for  Elias.  Johanna  had  gone  up  straight 
to  her  "  Mynheer."  She  found  him  sitting  still  silent  in 
the  chair,  into  which  he  had  sunk  without  knowing  it.  A 
policeman  was  standing  at  the  farther  end  of  the  large 
room,  by  the  hearth — and  that  ugly  stain  on  the  carpet. 
The  parrot,  disturbed  by  the  unwonted  bustle,  was  trim- 
ming himself  in  his  cage  and  screaming,  "  Wake  up  !  "Wake 
up  !  "  a  thousand  times  over.  On  the  floor  lay  a  scattered 
heap  of  spillikens. 

Johanna  went  immediately  towards  Elias  and  took  him 
by  the  hand  and  marched  him  in  the  direction  of  the  door 
which  communicated  with  his  bedroom.  The  policeman 
turned  a  slow  head.  "  The  body  is  in  there,"  he  said,  and 
jerked  his  chin. 

Johanna  broke  into  an  angry  exclamation,  and  led  her 
charge  to  a  spare  room  next  her  own.  There  she  put  him 
to  bed,  helping  him  to  undress  and  to  wash  as  usual.  Elias 
did  not  speak,  and  his  nurse  was  glad  it  should  be  so.  Only 
once  he  said  "  Sleepy,"  and  she  sat  watching  him  as  his 
eyes  fell  to. 

She  crept  away  from  his  side,  shuddering  as  she  went 
down  the  passage,  for  thought  of  "  the  body  "  at  the  other 
end.  "  God  forgive  me,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  if  He  can. 
I  shall  never  forgive  myself." 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  Elias  awoke.  His  brain  was 
clear  again,  as  fools'  brains  go.  He  sat  up  in  bed,  and  said 
"  Murder." 

Murder.  He  did  not  know  much  about  "  death  "  and 
"  killing,"  but  he  knew  what  "  murder  "  was.  Christ  had 
been  murdered.  Murder  was  hating  a  man  so  utterly  that 
you  wanted  him  to  stop  seeing,  hearing,  walking,  speaking, 
that  you  wanted  him  to  stop  being,  in  a  word.  And  so  you 
tried  to  prevent  his  being.  You  struck  him  till  he  could 
no  longer  be.     And  he  who  did  this  thing,  who  made  an- 


428  GOD'S   FOUL. 

other  human  being  to  lie  silent  like  a  stick  or  stone,  was  a 
murderer.  It  was  the  very  worst  thing  a  man  could  be. 
The  wicked  Jews  had  murdered  Christ.  And  Elias  had 
murdered  his  brother. 

Murder.  Tlie  whole  room  was  full  of  it.  Room? 
What  did  he  know  of  rooms,  of  limits  of  space.  lie  opened 
his  horror-struck  eyes  wide,  and  they  saw  as  much,  or  as 
little,  as  before — the  immensity  of  darkness.  He  put 
out  his  hand  and  felt  that  he  was  among  unusual  sur- 
roundings. Where  was  he  ?  In  the  place  where  God 
confines  the  wicked  ?  Prison,  the  grave,  hell — the  idea  was 
all  one  to  him.  He  was  in  the  darkness — the  soul-darkness 
he  had  never  known  thus  till  this  hour. 

Heaven  and  earth  were  aflame  with  the  cry  of  murder. 
It  rose  up  in  his  heart  and  flooded  his  whole  existence.  It 
pressed  back  upon  him,  and  held  him  by  the  throat,  when- 
ever he  tried  to  shake  it  off.  But  he  barely  tried.  His  was 
a  mind  of  few  ideas,  at  the  mercy  of  so  merciless  a  tyrant 
as  this.  The  wish  to  do  away  with,  to  silence,  to  annihilate. 
Elias  had  murdered  his  brother,  as  the  Jews  had  murdered 
Christ. 

He  dared  not  pray.  He  buried  his  face  in  the  pillow 
and  longed  to  be  truly  blind,  that  he  might  not  see  "  mur- 
der"; truly  deaf,  that  he  might  not  hear  "murder."  He 
dared  not  think  of  forgiveness.  There  could  be  no  forgive- 
ness for  such  crime  as  this.  "  Sins  "  to  him  had  meant  his 
childish  petulances.  He  had  never  heard  of  anyone  for- 
giving Christ's  murderers.  Everybody  was  still  very  angry 
with  them,  and  yet  it  was  a  long  time  ago  since  Christ  was 
killed.  There  could  be  no  hope,  no  escape.  There  was 
nothing  but  this  agony,  beyond  tears,  beyond  jDardon. 
Nothing  but  the  consciousness,  which  must  remain  forever, 
of  being  one  of  the  very  few  among  the  worst  of  men. 

And  he  remembered  that  he  had  thought  he  was  almost 
as  good  as  the  Lord  Christ. 


CHAPTER   LI. 

KOOPSTAD    CACKLES. 

Next  morniug  all  Koopstad  awoke  to  the  delightful 
horror  of  a  home-brewed  tragedy,  the  genuine  article,  not 
an  imported  scrap  in  a  corner  of  the  newspapers  about  a 
massacre  in  Sicily  or  Spain,  but  a  tangible,  controllable, 
private-property  crime  of  their  own,  with  the  added  stimu- 
lus of  initials  which  everyone  was  soon  able  to  decipher, 
and  a  "  scene  of  the  murder "  which  everybody  could  go 
and  stare  at,  from  the  outside.  It  was  as  different  from  the 
ordinary  tales  in  the  papers,  as  going  to  the  theatre  is  dif- 
ferent from  reading  that  there  has  been  a  j)erformance  in 
■another  town. 

By  ten  o'clock  on  that  Saturday  morning,  then,  there 
was  not  a  child  in  the  city — excepting  the  babies  under 
three — but  knew  that  the  Town-Councillor  Hendrik  Los- 
sell  had  been  murdered  by  his  mad  brother.  It  was  a  mer- 
ciful dispensation  that  the  day  should  be  a  half-holiday. 
There  were  not  police  enough  in  Koopstad  to  keeiD  order 
on  the  road  outside  the  gate.  There  are  never  police 
enough  in  Koopstad. 

The  clubs  had  already  heard  the  news  on  the  preceding 
night.  And  the  ladies  of  Koopstad,  therefore,  were  able  to 
communicate  it  to  the  whole  household  before  breakfast. 
There  was  but  one  source  of  supreme  disappointment  to  all. 
It  was  that  everybody  seemed  to  have  received  the  informa- 
tion simultaneously.  Everybody  wanted  to  tell  the  story, 
and  there  was  nobody  left  to  tell  it  to.     There  was  not  even 


430  GOD'S  FOOL. 

the  interest  of  speculating  who  could  have  done  it.  For 
everybody  knew  it  was  Elias.  Still,  the  why  remained,  and 
the  how,  when  and  where  in  all  its  hundred  authentic,  fan- 
cied and  falsified  particulars.  The  few  facts  were  spread, 
in  special  editions,  over  great  surfaces  of  "  latest  intelli- 
gence " ;  there  was  nothing  done  in  the  city  all  day  but  a 
constant  exchanging  of  scraps  of  detail  which  everybody 
had  already  read  for  himself,  and  happy  indeed  was  the 
rare  individual  whose  volunteered  item  of  news  was  met 
with  a  "  No,  I  hadn't  seen  that."  Before  nightfall  fancy 
portraits  of  Elias  came  out,  and  were  sold  in  the  streets  at 
twopence  a-piece. 

The  feeling  in  Koopstad  was  not  very  violent  against 
Elias ;  it  was  more  regretful.  It  shook  its  head.  If  any- 
thing, it  was  stronger  against  the  twin-brothers  Lossell,  be- 
cause they  had  been  so  stupid,  so  culpably  stupid,  you  know. 
And  nobody  ever  forgives  anybody  else's  stupidity.  The 
stupider  I  can  make  you  out  to  be,  the  less  stupid  need  I 
appear  to  myself.  It  is  a  game  of  see-saw,  and  in  see-saw 
everybody  likes  to  go  up.  You  and  I  would  have  foreseen 
long  ago  what  danger  there  lies  in  allowing  madmen  to  go 
loose.  The  brothers  Lossell  had  not  foreseen  this,  or  per- 
haps they  had  not  chosen  to  foresee  it.  Koopstad  looked 
wise.  What  was  this  about  a  sudden  appeal  for  a  curator- 
ship,  which  had  cropped  up  unexpectedly  after  all  these 
years  ?  A  strange  story.  Doubtless  there  was  more  behind. 
You  could  not  be  very  angry  with  Hendrik,  because  he  was 
dead.  So  people  spoke  doubtfully  of  Hubert,  and  eyed  him 
askance,  as  he  drove  rajiidly,  in  deep  mourning,  with  sullen, 
staring  face,  to  the  Bureau  of  the  Public  Prosecutor. 

And  then,  late  in  the  afternoon,  came  the  news  of  the 
liquidation  of  the  South  Sumatra  Tobacco  Company.  Its 
shares  fell  five  hundred  per  cent,  in  a  couple  of  hours.  Men 
offered  them  to  each  other  in  the  streets.  Commercial  cir- 
cles at  once  sought,  though  vainly,  to  connect  this  event 
with  the  murder.     Every  man  of  business  was  loud  in  de- 


KOOPSTAD  CACKLES.  431 

nouucing  tlie  shameful  conspiracy ;  they  were  loudest  who 
had  made  most  money  by  it.  Yet  it  had  not  been  quite  so 
successful  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  some  of  the  best-in- 
formed whispered  to  each  other.  The  Eoyal  Sumatra  Com- 
pany, too  anxious  to  make  sure  of  its  majority,  had  bought 
up  far  more  shares  than  it  required.  A  million  of  money 
had  been  wasted  in  that  manner.  A  million  is  a  large  sum 
— even  in  florins. 

It  was  confidently  asserted  that,  what  with  one  thing 
and  another,  Hendrik  Lossell  would  be  found  to  be  ruined. 
Perhaps  he  had  killed  himself  ?  suggested  solitary  individ- 
uals, who  wanted  to  be  original.  The  idea  spread  like  wild- 
fire. Its  originators  were  much  irritated  to  hear  that  the 
medical  men  declared  it  to  be  untenable. 

"Poor  Cornelia,"  said  somebody.  But  the  somebody 
was  in  a  minority  of  one.  Like  Lot.  For  all  the  well-reg- 
ulated minds  of  Koopstad  understood  clearly  that  if  Hen- 
drik was  ruined,  it  was  the  result  of  the  lady's  living  more 
expensively  than  her  better-born  neighbours,  and,  as  Cor- 
nelia would  doubtless  be  ruined  as  well  as  her  dead  hus- 
band, there  was  no  reason  why  everybody  should  not  now 
say  so. 

Would  Volderdoes  Zonen  go  too  ?  That  was  the  fore- 
most, the  absorbing  question.  In  how  far  was  the  great 
house  responsible  for  its  partner's  private  ^bts  ?  Late  at 
night  immense  relief  was  experienced  at  the  clubs  by  the 
news  that  one  of  the  most  trusted  sub-chiefs  had  declared, 
speaking,  evidently,  for  his  master,  that,  although  the  dead 
man's  liabilities  were  enormous,  yet  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  large  fortune  of  the  head  of  the  firm  had  remained 
intact.  No  secret  was  made  of  Hendrik's  misdoings.  An 
arrangement  would  have  to  be  come  to  with  his  creditors. 
But  the  house  of  Volderdoes  Zonen  was  saved. 

With  this  declaration  men  had  to  be  content.  It  was 
not  possible  to  get  speech  of  Hubert  Lossell.  He  drove 
from  his  house  to  the  Palais  de  Justice,  in  Elias's  carriage, 


432  GOD'S  FOOL. 

and  straight  back  again  to  his  house.  The  interview  with 
the  criminal  authorities  lasted  an  hour  and  a  half. 

Not  a  word  of  that  interview  reached  the  outer  world. 
What  Avould  it  not  have  given,  could  it  have  guessed  that 
Hubert  had  declared  to  the  astonished  officials  that  he  was 
convinced  of  his  brother  Elius's  innocence  ?  These  gentle- 
men, when  they  first  heard  him,  looked  at  each  other  and 
smiled. 

"  You  will  find,"  said  Hubert,  "  that  there  was  another 
person  who  had  every  reason  to  desire  Hendrik  Lossell's 
death.  As  the  nurse  has  already  told  you,  the  two  brothers 
were  not  alone  last  night.  Find  out  who  was  with  them. 
That  is  the  way  to  discover  the  murderer." 

"Whom  do  you  suspect,  Mynheer  Lossell?"  asked  the 
Public  Prosecutor. 

"  Will  you  kindly  excuse  my  postponing  my  answer  to 
that  question?"  replied  Hubert. 

And  then,  this  new  hint  being  given,  the  whole  story 
gradually  developed  itself.  The  Notary  and  his  men  were 
re-examined,  and,  after  them,  the  servants  of  the  house. 
The  first  batch  could  only  repeat  their  previous  statements, 
but  with  the  servants  this  second  investigation  proved  more 
successful.  For  John,  who,  loving  his  place  and  his  outer 
conscience,  had  only  remembered  up  till  now  the  arrival  of 
the  three  men  Avho  had  accompanied  Hendrik,  began  to 
recall  another  circumstance  under  the  stress  of  questioning. 
Although  expressly  forbidden  to  do  so,  he  had  admitted 
another  gentleman,  who  had  rung  and  asked  whether  Myn- 
heer Hendrik  Lossell  were  there.  The  gentleman  had  in- 
sisted on  being  allowed  to  go  upstairs,  unattended.  He  had 
tipped  John — heavily.  The  footman  had  heard  the  other 
three  coming  downstairs  a  few  minutes  earlier.  He  had 
passed  into  the  hall  to  let  them  out.  They  had  driven 
away  in  Mynheer  Lossell's  carriage.  When  the  other  gen- 
tleman came  the  carriage  had  not  yet  returned. 

John  did  not  know  the  gentleman. 


KOOPSTAD  CACKLES.  433 

"  Ask  him,"  burst  out  Hubert,  "  whether  he  was  tall  and 
thin." 

The  man  of  law  frowned.  "  I  am  coming  to  that,"  he 
said.  "  You  must  not  interrupt,  if  you  please,  Mynheer 
Lossell.  If  you  wish  to  say  whom  you  suspect,  I  will  gladly 
give  you  an  opportunity  of  doing  so." 

"  Remove  this  man,"  replied  Hubert.     "  I  will." 

And,  as  soon  as  the  door  had  closed  upon  John,  the 
merchant  said  hurriedly  :  "  I  suspect  my  brother's  brother- 
in-law,  the  advocate  Alers.  Get  his  photograph  from 
Mevrouw  Lossell,  and  you  will  see.  He  was  concerned  in 
commercial  transactions  with  my  brother.  My  brother  was 
in  possession  of  papers  which  the  other  was  anxious  to  re- 
cover. It  was  to  institute  inquiries  about  this  very  subject 
that  I  unexpectedly  went  to  Amsterdam  yesterday  afternoon." 

The  jihotograph  was  procured,  and  John  was  confronted 
with  it.     He  was  asked  whether  he  knew  this  gentleman. 

"  Yes,"  he  said.  "  It  was  the  gentleman  who  had  come 
last  night." 

They  arrested  Alers  that  evening.  But  they  managed 
to  do  so  without  Koopstad  knowing  of  it,  out  of  considera- 
tion for  his  family — for  the  widow,  above  all.  He  was  sup- 
posed to  have  gone  out  of  town  for  a  day  or  two.  On  Mon- 
day a  renewed  attempt  must  be  made  to  get  some  assistance 
from  Elias.  But  that  would  almost  certainly  prove  futile. 
However,  fortunately,  they  hardly  wanted  it.  The  whole 
denouement  was  working  round  plainly  enough  now.  The 
authorities  were  astonished  to  remember  how  jaersistently 
they  had  suspected  the  poor,  harmless  idiot. 

But  Koopstad  knew  nothing  of  this  sudden  change. 
And  tlie  portraits  of  the  murderer  were  hawked  about  under 
the  yellow  gaslights  all  that  Saturday  night,  and  everybody 
who  had  twopence  to  spare  stopped  and  bought  one. 


(( 


I  always  thought  it  would  prove  to  be  Alers,"  said 
Hubert  to  his  wife,  when  he  came  home,  jaded  and   sick, 

28 


434  GOD'S  FOOL. 

late  in  the  evening.  "  Well,  it  was  destiny.  We  cannot 
complain.  Elias  is  saved.  And  so  is  Volderdoes  Zonen. 
And  you  and  I  and  the  children.  They  were  a  bad  couple, 
both  of  them,  Thomas  and  Ilendrik.  It  was  the  best  thing 
for  Ilendrik  that  he  should  die — if  one  comes  to  think  of 
it.  What  said  your  Kingsley  ?  '  You  cannot  take  away 
human  life  :  it  is  only  the  animal  life  you  take  away.  Very 
often  the  best  thing  you  can  do  for  a  poor  creature  is  to  put 
him  out  of  the  world,  saying  :  We  render  you  back  to  God, 
that  he  may  give  you  a  fresh  chance  in  another  world,  as 
you  have  spoilt  your  chance  in  this  one.'  It  comes  to  that. 
Well,  he  is  right.  If  Hendrik  had  lived  a  day  longer  he 
would  have  ruined  us  all,  and  committed  crimes  which  he 
has  now  been  spared.  He  may  be  thankful  to  the  man  who 
killed  him." 

"  God  have  mercy  upon  him  and  us,"  said  Margaret. 

"  Amen,"  echoed  Hubert  with  a  groan.  "  If  there  be  a 
God,"  he  added. 

All  day  long  Johanna  had  striven  in  vain  to  rouse  Elias 
from  the  silent  despair  in  which  he  lay  as  one  asleep  yet 
dreaming.  She  had  wept  till  she  could  weep  no  longer ; 
she  had  prayed  till  the  fountain  of  her  prayers  seemed  to 
dry  up.  Not  for  one  instant  had  she  believed  in  her  dar- 
ling's guilt,  but  all  her  attempts  to  solve  the  mystery  had 
hitherto  jDroved  fruitless.  John  was  dumb  in  her  presence, 
and  secretly  hoped  all  things  would  turn  out  well.  Elias 
lay  back  in  his  chair,  and,  if  he  spoke  at  all,  it  was  to  curse 
himself  and  the  day  upon  which  he  was  born  and  the 
misery,  the  misery,  of  being  more  evil  than  all  other  sons 
of  men.  In  a  moment  of  maddest  rage  and  hate  he  had 
slain  his  brother.  Never  again,  through  all  the  endless 
years  would  Hendrik  come  back  to  Cornelia. 

"  But,  Jasje,"  implored  Johanna,  "  explain  why.  TT7/?/ 
is  it,  my  child,  that  you  should  have  done  so  awful  a  thing  ? 
But  you  did  not  do  it." 


KOOPSTAD  CACKLES.  435 

"  He  struck  me,"  repeated  Elias  over  aud  over  again, 
"  and  I  struck  him  back,  and  killed  him.     I  was  glad." 

"  But,  my  son, — the  knife !  Where  did  you  get  the 
knife  from  ?  " 

"  What  knife  ?  "  said  Elias,  Avaking  up,  as  it  were,  from 
his  sleep. 

"  How  did  you  kill  Hendrik,  do  you  think  ?  "  asked  the 
old  woman  quickly,  bending  over  him. 

"  He  struck  me,  and  I  struck  him  again,  and  killed 
him,"  said  Elias,  falling  back  into  his  torpor.  "  I  was 
glad." 

"  Child,  child,"  spelled  Johanna  unwarily  in  her  excite- 
ment. "  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  Why  do  you  tell 
these  things?  And  the  knife  then,  in  his  back,  through 
the  heart  ?  There  was  no  knife  in  the  sitting-room.  The 
knife  used  had  been  taken  from  your  supper-plate  in  the 
passage.  Had  you  gone  out  to  get  it  ?  You  know  you 
had  not."  She  spelled  it  all  out  to  him  more  than 
once. 

"  The  knife ! "  repeated  Elias,  sinking  away  from  her, 
as  it  were,  with  closed  eyes  and  knotted  brows.  "  The 
knife  !     The  knife  !  " 

She  could  got  nothing  more  out  of  him. 

All  through  the  Sunday  eager  crowds  from  Koopstad 
"moved  on"  before  the  villa,  lying  mysterious  with  its 
awful  secret,  its  closed  blinds  gleaming  white  beneath  the 
fresh  spring  sunshine.  It  Avas  known  that  "  the  murderer  " 
had  not  been  removed.  He  was  being  watched  in  the 
house. 

The  Juge  d'Instruction  was  to  examine  him  on  Monday 
morning,  at  the  same  hour  which  had  originally  been  set 
apart  for  the  legal  inquiry  into  his  mental  condition.  Peo- 
ple smiled  to  each  other,  when  this  fact  was  noted.  "  He 
has  supplied  new  material,  if  any  was  wanting,"  they  said. 
"  There  is  not  much  doubt  now  but  that  he  will  be  con- 


436  GOD'S  FOOL. 


sidcred  insane.     lie  is  a  dangerous  maniac  and  must  bo 
strictly  confined  in  a  madhouse." 

"  It  is  evidently  a  case  of  homicidal  mania,"  said  all  the 
doctors  but  one. 

"  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it,"  said  Dr.  Pillenaar. 

The  police  authorities  meanwhile  were  quietly  building 
up  the  case  of  the  man  they  had  got.  The  lawyer  denied 
his  guilt,  of  course.  He  being  a  lawyer,  this  was  to  be  ex- 
pected. But  everything  seemed  as  plain  as  a  pike-staff, 
nonetheless.  There  was  but  one  difficulty.  The  dead 
man's  coachman,  who  had  returned  to  his  station  by  the 
front-door  after  Alers  had  entered  the  house,  swore  to  hav- 
ing seen  his  master's  shadow  move  rapidly  across  the  blind 
a  few  moments  subsequent  to  what  he— Chris— believed  to 
have  been  the  lawyer's  departure.  For,  while  the  carriage 
was  waiting,  a  gentleman  had  issued  from  the  villa,  and  it 
was  not  till  this  gentleman  had  disappeared  out  of  sight 
that  the  coachman  had  seen  the  shadow.  But,  then,  Chris 
had  at  first  declared  to  all  who  would  hear  him  that  the 
dead  merchant  had  also  come  out  at  the  front-door  and  had 
ordered  him  to  drive  home.  Chris  had  done  so,  and  had 
heard  the  defunct  move  restlessly  in  the  carriage.  "  It  was 
his  ghost,"  explained  Chris.  The  Public  Prosecutor  did 
not  accept  the  explanation. 

Who,  then,  was  this  gentleman  who  had  come  to  the 
house  and  gone  away  ?  The  coachman  could  not  identify 
Alers  because  of  the  dark  and  the  heavy  mist.  But  that  was 
of  less  importance.  The  police  were  quite  willing  to  admit 
that  Chris  might  have  seen  the  lawyer  depart.  What  they 
could  not  attach  so  much  importance  to,  in  the  face  of  all 
the  other  evidence,  was  the  exact  moment  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  shadow  on  the  blind.  John  repeated  with 
vehemence,  that  he  had  "  never  admitted  no  one  but  the 
lawyer." 

More  portraits  of  Elias  than  ever  were  sold  on  that 
beautiful  Sunday  afternoon.     Copies  were  even  bought  by 


KOOPSTAD  CACKLES.  437 

some  of  the  young  ladies  who  had  so  sincerely  regretted 
that  "  the  prisoned  eagle  would  not  pair."  The  higher 
classes  of  Koopstad — the  cousins — were  reproachful,  regret- 
ful, annoyed  and  ashamed.  The  whole  disgraceful  scandal 
ought  to  have  been  avoided.  Hendrik  Lossell  did  not 
belong  to  a  class  of  men  of  business  Avhich  had  a  right  to 
speculate  and  become  bankrupt.  And  Elias,  who — whether 
idiot  or  criminal  maniac  or  what  not — had  always  been,  and 
probably  still  was,  the  richest  man  in  Koopstad,  ought  to 
have  been  prevented  from  bringing  such  public  ignominy 
on  his  name,  on  his  family,  and  on  the  class  to  which  he 
belonged  none  the  less,  but  rather  a  little  the  more,  because 
he  was  such  an  utter  fool. 

Late  in  the  evening  "  the  richest  man  in  Koopstad " 
roused  himself  and  said  that  he  wanted  his  brother  Hubert 
to  be  sent  for  to  come  and  see  him  next  morning — before 
the  other  gentlemen  came. 


CHAPTER    LIT. 

THE    RESURRECTIOK    AND   THE    LIFE. 

The  fool  sat  in  his  room,  by  the  fireside,  with  his  hands 
in  his  lap.  His  eyes  were  closed.  God  had  closed  them. 
And  in  the  deep  darkness  of  his  soul  lay  Light  made  mani- 
fest, the  Beatific  Vision  of  that  which  is  not,  and  therefore 
is  eternal. 

Johanna  went  up  to  him  and  touched  his  hand. 

"  Myn  Heer,"  she  said,  "Mynheer  Hubert  is  come." 
Then  she  turned  to  leave  the  two  brothers  together.  "  He 
does  not  seem  to  understand,"  she  declared  to  Hubert  Los- 
sell  in  passing.  "  But,  Mynheer  Hubert,  he  knows  nothing 
of  the  murder,  although  he  says  he  did  it.  Ask  him  ;  you 
will  find  he  did  not  even  know  about  the  knife."  Then  she 
broke  down,  and  drew  her  black  silk  apron  across  her  face. 
Hubert  had  noticed  how  white  and  wretched  she  looked. 
All  her  comeliness  seemed  suddenly  to  have  forsaken  her  in 
these  last  two  days. 

"Hubert,"  said  Elias,  speaking  in  a  whisper  (barely 
audible,  for  he  was  unable  to  modulate  it).  "  Listen, 
Hubert,  are  we  alone  ?  " 

Hubert  Lossell  came  close  to  his  brother  and  answered, 
«  Yes." 

"  Quite  alone  ?     Are  you  sure  ?    Is  the  door  shut  ?  " 

"Yes.     What  is  it?" 

"  Hubert,  Avhy  did  you  take  the  knife  ?" 

In  that  moment,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Hubert 
Lossell  rejoiced  with  a  rush  of  fierce  rejoicing  over  the 
blindness  he  himself  had  inflicted. 


THE  RESURRECTION  AND  TPIE  LIFE.  439 

"  Listen,  Hubert,"  Elias  went  on,  sj)eaking  fast,  and 
louder,  though  he  still  believed  himself  to  be  whispering, 
"  I  remember  now.  I  remember  all  about  it.  I  mean,  not 
quite  all,  but  enough.  There  was  somebody  in  the  room 
when  they  struck  me.  Was  it  you  or  Hendrik  struck  me? 
I  didn't  know  you  were  there  then.  I  can't  understand 
why  I  didn't  know.  But  before  I  woke,  after  the  blow,  I 
felt  you  were  there.  Were  you  gone,  Hubert,  when  I  struck 
Hendrik  ?  I  don't  remember  you  then.  But  when  Johanna 
spoke  about  the  knife,  I  suddenly  remembered  that  you 
had  been  there  that  evening.  Then  it  must  have  been  you 
that  used  the  knife,  Hubert.  Johanna  says  it  was  the  knife 
killed  Hendrik.  But  she  doesn't  know,  because  I  killed 
him  too.    Why  did  you  kill  Hendrik,  Hubert,  as  well  as  I  ?  " 

In  a  moment  the  whole  confused  crowd  of  conflicting 
circumstances  fell  into  orderly  places  and  their  harmony 
stood  revealed  to  Hubert's  mind.  The  puzzle  was  complete. 
Once  more  he  saw  himself  hurrying  back  from  Amsterdam, 
having  just  caught  the  earlier  train  as  it  was  steaming  out 
of  the  station.  Again  he  heard  the  incessant,  exasperating 
"  Volderdoes  Zonen,  Volderdoes  Zonen,"  of  the  thumping 
carriages  all  the  way  down  to  Koopstad,  He  had  noticed, 
upon  reaching  his  destination,  that  it  was  still  early,  not  yet 
half-past  seven,  and  he  had  decided  first  to  run  out  to  the 
Villa,  to  obtain  from  Elias,  before  he  was  put  to  bed,  the  so 
necessary  information  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  docu- 
ments which  had  been  used  at  Amsterdam.  He  must  be 
certain  of  this  matter  first,  before  he  could  demand  a  final 
explanation  of  Hendrik.  On  the  way  out  he  had  met  a 
carriage — doubtless  it  was  Hendrik's,  returning  with  the 
Notary — he  had  not  recognized  it  in  the  mist.  When  he 
reached  the  house,  he  had  let  himself  in  with  a  latch-key, 
which  he  had  constantly  used  after  his  return  from  Cliina 
(Old  Hendrik  had  had  it),  and,  having  seen  light  in  Elias's 
sitting-room,  he  had  run  up  thither.  But  on  the  landing 
he  had  paused,  hearing  voices,  Hendrik's  and — and — yes 


440  GOD'S  FOOL. 

— Alcrs's.  lie  had  slipped  into  tlie  adjoining  bedroom  and 
listened.  Thus  he  had  surprised  these  two  in  the  midst  of 
their  quarrel.  He  had  heard  their  recriminations,  and  had 
soon  discovered  all  the  infamy  of  the  forged  power  of  attor- 
ney. Hendrik  had  the  document  with  him,  and  Hubert 
had  soon  heard  him  declare  that,  all  other  means  having 
failed,  he  was  now  willing  to  use  it.  Furthermore  he  had 
heard  him  affirm  that  he  was  going  straight  to  his  appoint- 
ment with  Lankater,  so  that,  in  another  hour  at  the  most, 
the  still  obtainable  shares  would  be  his.  All  this  Hubert 
had  heard,  as  he  stood  listening  in  the  darkness,  but  he  had 
not  been  aware  that,  when  Thomas  left  the  house,  the 
lawyer  had  taken  away  the  forged  deed  with  him  in  his 
pocket. 

Immediately  after  Alers's  departure  Hubert  had  burst 
in  upon  his  two  brothers.  He  had  found  Elias  lying 
motionless  in  his  chair  on  one  side  of  the  fire  and  Hendrik 
sitting  pensively  opposite.  He  now  understood  that  Alers, 
on  first  entering,  or  perhaps  Hendrik,  more  probably  Alers, 
must  have  struck  down  the  fool  with  some  blunt  object, 
not  to  hurt,  but  to  silence  him,  and  to  have  him  out  of  the 
way.  The  interview  between  the  twins  had  been  short,  but 
very  violent.  Elias  must  have  recovered  consciousness,  or 
semi-consciousness,  towards  its  close.  Hubert  had  furiously 
upbraided  his  brother,  and  reproached  him  with  the  im- 
pending ruin  of  the  house.  Hendrik  had  answered  scorn- 
fully, had  laughed  at  the  other,  at  his  impotent  rage,  at 
his  got-up  tale  of  the  Tobacco  Plot  and  its  consequences,  at 
the  prospects  of  misery  and  misfortune,  where  success  was 
at  last  within  reach.  "  I  am  going  to  be  rich  in  spite  of 
your  envious  resolve  to  keep  me  poor,"  he  had  said.  "  I 
am  ofE  to  Lankater's  notary  at  this  moment.  And  to- 
morrow, when  I  am  at  last  head  of  the  house,  little  Hubert, 
we  can  continue  this  pleasant  conversation.  Ta-ta."  He 
had  run  round  by  the  window  to  depart — it  Avas  this  shadow 
which   Chris   must  have   seen — but,  suddenly   bethinking 


THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE.  441 

himself,  lie  had  sat  down  iu  his  former  seat  for  one 
moment,  to  fasten  a  boot-lace. 

It  was  then  that  Hubert  had  stabbed  him  in  the  back, 
with  a  knife  which  he  had  caught  up  from  a  dumb-waiter 
standing  ready  in  the  passage.  He  had  stabbed  him  in  the 
name  of  Justice,  in  the  service  of  red-handed,  right-handed 
Nemesis,  as  an  executioner,  an  avenger,  a  Knight  of  the 
Cross. 

With  one  terrified  glance  at  his  victim,  sitting  bent 
double,  the  head  sunk  forward  on  the  knees,  and  at  Elias 
opposite,  apparently  senseless,  Hubert  had  fled — from  the 
room,  down  the  deserted  staircase,  out  of  the  house.  He 
had  understood  immediately,  even  before  he  struck  the 
blow,  that  sus^jicion  would  fall  upon  Alers.  No  one  knew 
of  his — Hubert's — presence  at  the  villa.  He  must  get  back 
to  the  town  in  time  to  reach  home  as  if  he  had  just  arrived 
by  the  eight  o'clock  train.  His  acquaintance  in  Amster- 
dam could  testify  to  his  having  quitted  him  too  late  to 
catch  the  preceding  one.  There  had  been  only  one  way  of 
rendering  this  possible.  It  was  past  eight  already.  He  had 
jumped  into  Hendrik's  carriage  under  cover  of  the  mist — 
that  the  tone  of  their  voices  was  very  similar  is  known  to 
all  Koopstad — and,  having  opened  and  shut  the  door  once 
or  twice  so  that  the  coachman  might  get  tired  of  looking 
round,  he  had  slipped  out — still  under  cover  of  the  mist — 
as  soon  as  the  tramrails  were  reached,  and,  catching  a  tram 
a  few  moments  later,  he  had  found  himself  at  home  as  soon 
as,  if  not  sooner  than,  Alers. 

Most  of  this  he  had  of  course  known  before,  though  he 
had  had  no  idea  that  Elias  had  been  rendered  unconscious, 
but  had  yet  recovered  such  senses,  or  part  of  such  senses,  as 
he  possessed  in  time  to  vaguely  realize  his  second  brother's 
presence  in  the  room.  Of  Alers's  having  been  there,  Elias 
evidently  was  not  aware,  as  was  only  natural,  for  Alers  was 
not  a  person  whose  ap})roach  he  could  have  gathered  from 
any  other  indications  tiiau  actual  information. 


442  GOD'S  FOOL. 

Hubert's  coming  he  had  felt,  as  that  of  all  people  whom 
he  especially  loved.  But  it  was  evident  that,  as  he  regained 
a  fuller  consciousness,  he  had  remembered  nothing  but  the 
insult,  the  injury  he  had  received,  and  springing  forward  he 
must  have  struck  what  was  already  the  corpse  of  Ilendrik 
Lossell.  This  Hubert  now  understood,  and  it  explained 
to  him  how  Elias  could  have  so  firmly  believed  himself  to 
be  tlie  murderer.  It  also  explained  how  Elias,  knowing 
nothing  of  Alers,  but  remembering,  when  the  wound  with 
the  knife  was  first  mentioned,  that  Hubert  had  been  in  the 
room  with  him  and  Hendrik,  had  learnt  to  comprehend 
that  the  wound  with  the  knife  must  be  Hubert's. 

Hubert  was  happy — no,  he  was  not  happy — Hubert  was 
content  to  know  that  the  police-authorities  thought  other- 
wise. It  was  right  that  Alers  should  bear  the  blame  of  the 
murder.  !For,  in  reality,  Alers  was  the  guilty  man.  He 
had  slain  Hendrik  morally.  He  alone  had  rendered  this 
physical  killing  expedient,  unavoidable.  And  it  was  right, 
it  was  just,  that,  being  the  intellectual  cause  of  Hendrik's 
death,  he  should  be  punished  for  it — and  he  alone. 

"■  Why  did  you  kill  Hendrik,  Hubert  ?  "  repeated  Elias 
after  a  long  pause,  "  as  well  as  I." 

Hubert  did  not  answer  him. 

"  I  want  to  know,"  the  fool  continued  piteously.  "  I  do 
so  want  to  know,  because  I  cannot  understand.  I  have 
been  thinking  about  it  day  and  night ;  it  seems  for  ages. 
And  my  head  gets  so  tired,  and  then  I  forget  what  I 
thought.  You  didn't  do  it,  because  he  struck  you?  Did 
you  do  it,  Hubert,  you — you,  did  you  do  it,  because  Hendrik 
wanted  to  do  harm  to  Volderdoes  Zonen  ?  " 

Hubert  stood — away  from  his  step-brother — by  the  win- 
dow. He  could  not  approach  to  give  answer.  He  would 
not  have  known  what  answer  to  give. 

Doubtless  Volderdoes  Zonen  had  been  his  first  thought. 
But  he  had  not  forgotten  his  children,  whose  fortunes  were 
so  intimately  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  firm.     He 


THE  RESURRECTION   AND   THE  LIFE.  443 

desired  nothing  better  than  to  work  for  them,  and  for 
Elias,  and  Margaret.  The  great  house  must  be  uplifted  out 
of  this  slough  of  destruction.  It  must  be  restored  to  its 
former  repose  and  solidity,  and  the  blot  on  its  integrity 
must  be  wiped  out  in  the  course  of  the  spotless  years. 
That  wovild  be  his  mission  in  future. 

The  name  of  Lossell  must  be  as  honoured  in  the  future 
as  it  had  ever  been  in  the  past.  Koopstad  honour.  Com- 
mercial honour.  The  honour,  not  of  even  balances,  which 
would  mean  bankruptcy  and  are  to  be  avoided,  but  of 
heavy  balances,  on  the  right  side,  the  winning  side,  that  is. 
Big  surpluses,  in  a  word,  for  these  are  the  only  balances  to 
which  a  wise  merchant  need  pay  attention.  Just  as  the  only 
scales  of  which  Justice  is  careful  are  her  scales  of  increasing 
costs.  Thank  God,  thou  art  only  a  fool,  Elias ;  and  of 
such,  in  this  wide  world  of  Koopstad,  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

To  restore  the  greatness  of  his  name  before  the  world, 
that,  henceforth,  would  be  Hubert  Lossell's  work.  He 
would  do  it  with  all  his  strength  of  heart  and  brain.  He 
would  bring  up  his  sons  to  aid  him  and  to  work  as  hard, 
and  as  honestly,  as  he  did.  Until  they  took  their  share  of 
the  labour  he  must  work  alone.  It  was  his  destiny.  He 
accepted  it.     And  he  thought  of  his  dead  father. 

The  money  was  Elias's.  It  would  be  more  than  ever 
Elias's  now,  after  Ilendrik's  insolvency,  for  Hendrik's  share 
in  the  business  would  have  to  be  bought  up  and  his  debts 
would  have  to  be  paid  with  the  rich  step-brother's  money. 
This  was  unavoidable,  and  doubtless  the  judges  would 
authorise  the  necessary  steps.  But  all  must  be  open  and 
above-board  henceforth.  And  the  money  must  remain 
Elias's,  according  to  old  Volderdoes's  will.  Hubert  would 
always  be  a  poor  man.  He  could  not  help  it.  More  than 
ever,  Elias  was  head  of  the  firm. 

But  how  could  he  have  explained  to  this  unfortunate  why 
it  had  been  his  duty  to  remove  llendrik  ?    Even  had  he 


44:4:  GOD'S   FOOL. 

wished  to  do  so,  the  thing  would  have  remained  manifestly 
impossible.  He  must  simply  deny  Elias's  charge,  which 
not  a  soul  would  believe.  Everyone  knew  that  Hubert 
Lossell  had  been  away  at  Amsterdam,  and  on  his  return,  had 
gone  home  straight  from  the  station. 

And  so  he  was  dumb. 

"  I  believe,"  continued  Elias,  "  that  you  did  it  for  Vol- 
derdoes  Zonen.  Because  you  told  me  before  that  Hendrik 
was  harming  them.  That  was  very  wicked  of  him.  But  I 
am  sure  also  that  it  was  very  wicked  of  you  to  kill  him. 
Don't  be  angry  with  me  for  saying  so,  Hubert.  It  was  far 
more  wicked  of  me,  because  I  only  did  it  for  myself." 

He  waited  a  moment,  overpowered  by  the  recollection  of 
his  own  guilt. 

"  It  was  very,  very  wicked,"  he  went  on  presently.  "  Jo- 
hanna says  I  didn't  kill  him,  because  some  one  else  killed 
him  first.  She  doesn't  know  it  was  you.  She  says  two  people 
can't  kill  the  same  person,  one  after  the  other.  But  I 
know  that  is  wrong,  and  so  I  told  her,  because  Pilate  killed 
Christ,  and  then  the  Jews  killed  him  afterwards.  Mother 
Margaretha  told  me  so.  And  of  course  it's  true.  I  can 
love  Mother  Margaretha,  and  you  can  love  her,  and  ever 
so  many  more  people  can.  And  you  can  hate  Hendrik, 
and  I  can  hate  him,  though  it's  very  wrong.  I  don't  hate 
him  now  ;  it  Avas  only  for  a  minute.  I  don't  know  much  about 
what  Johanna  calls  "  Death,"  but  I  know  about  killing  peo- 
ple by  hating  them  till  they  don't  go  on  being,  and  Johanna 
says  they're  dead.  Christ  says  we  mustn't  hate  anybody, 
and  that's  what  they  did  to  Christ.  It  is  the  most  dreadful 
wickedness  possible.  Oh,  Hubert " — his  face  contracted 
with  anxiety — "  there  is  one  thing  I  want  to  know  terribly 
— I  want  to  ask  Mother  Margaretha — I  must  know  it.  It 
is  whether  God  has  ever  forgiven  Pilate,  though  everybody 
here  on  earth  seems  so  angry  with  him  still." 

Hubert  stood  motionless  by  the  window,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  Elias's. 


THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE.  445 

"  Ah,  well,"  said  the  blind  man  wearily.  "  You  must 
find  out  and  tell  me.  Mother  Margaretha  must  send  and 
tell  me,  if  she  mayn't  come  herself,  in  that  place  where  Jo- 
hanna says  they  will  put  me  ;  and  Johanna  says  she  mayn't. 
Please  remember  to  ask  her  about  it.     Please  do." 

"  Johanna  says,"  he  began  again,  "  that  they  never  pun- 
ish more  than  one  person  for  killing  a  dead  man.  I  don't 
understand  ;  it  seems  so  strange,  but  I  am  very  glad  it  should 
be  so.  And  so,  of  course,  they  must  punish  me,  because  I 
was  wickeder  than  you.  And,  besides,  there  is  Mother 
Margaretha,  and  the  children ;  Jack  and  Winnie,  and  the 
babies.  And  Volderdoes  Zonen.  I  have  thought  of  it  all, 
but  my  head  is  very  tired.  It  won't  matter  much  to  me, 
whether  I  live  here,  or  in  another  house.  Jolianna  says  I 
shall  live  in  another  house,  not  so  nice,  but  I  sha'n't  notice. 
And,  oh,  Hubert,  I  hope  you  will  be  sorry.  It  was  very, 
very  wicked.     And  I  shall  be  sorry  too." 

At  last  Hubert  broke  loose  from  the  chain  which  had 
held  him  fettered  to  his  silence.  He  ran  up  to  Elias  and 
caught  his  hand,  but  it  was  only  to  spell  on  its  palm  :  "  It 
wasn't  us,  Elias.     It  was  another  man." 

Elias  disengaged  his  fingers  and  rose  from  his  seat. 
"  Don't,  Hubert,"  he  said.  "  You  hurt  me.  I  know  it  was 
you,  as  well  as  me.  If  it  was  other  people  too,  so  much  the 
worse  for  them.  I  don't  know  anything  about  other  people. 
But  it  was  you  who  came  yesterday  and  killed  him.  I  shall 
not  tell  anything  about  your  coming  to  anybody.  Never. 
And  Johanna  declares  they  are  always  satisfied  with  one 
man.  But  I  shall  say :  '  Gentlemen,  it  was  I  who  killed  my 
brother.  I  was  angry  with  him  for  striking  me.  You 
must  lock  me  up.'  And  you  must  live  to  be  very,  very 
sorry,  Hubert,  and,  when  you  think  of  me,  you  will  know 
that  I  am  sorry  too.  I  am  sure  we  may  ask  God  to 
forgive  us.  I  thought  not,  at  first,  but  I  am  sure  now  that 
we  may  always  do  that." 

Elias  stood  erect  by  the  fireplace.     At  his  feet  lay  the 


446 


GOD'S  FOOL 


hideous  stain  on  the  carpet,  of  which  he  was  utterly  uncon- 
scious. At  that  moment  he  saw  only  the  brother  who  had 
wronged  him  in  his  childhood,  whose  face  he  had  never  be- 
held since  it  had  outgrown  its  early  infancy.  His  eyes  were 
blazing  with  light. 

"  The  gentlemen  will  be  waiting  for  us,"  he  said.  "  Dear, 
dear  Hubert,  you  must  be  very  sorry.  And  you  must  be 
very  good  to  Volderdoes  Zonen.  I  have  been  thinking,  if 
we  are  very  sorry,  and  if  we  pray  to  God  very,  very  often, 
always— and  I  feel  sure  they  will  let  me  pray  over  there— 
that  at  last,  perhaps.  He  may  forgive  us  and  make  Hen- 
drik  not  dead  again,  as  the  Lord  Christ  was  made.  And 
then  Heudrik  will  be  good,  and  we  shall  not  have  killed 
him.  Oh  no,  I  mean  wc  shall  have  killed  him,  but  he  will 
not  be  killed.  And  he  will  come  back  to  Cornelia,  as 
Mother  Margaretha,  who  Johanna  said  was  dead,  came  back 
to  me.  It  will  all  come  right,  only  we  must  pray  very  much. 
We  must  pray  very  much,  dear  brother.  I  wish  you  had 
spoken  to  me  and  told  me  you  had  done  it,  and  were  sorry." 

He  threw  back  the  long  curls  from  his  face  and  straight- 
ened his  stately  figure,  and  then,  resuming  immediately,  un- 
consciously, the  slight  stoop  of  his  blindness,  he  walked 
across  the  room  with  even  step,  and,  opening  the  door  and 
softly  closing  it  behind  him,  went  down  to  meet  his  judges. 

Hubert,  left  alone  in  the  room— alone  with  that  stain 
upon  the  carpet — stared  stupidly  for  one  moment  at  the 
door  which  had  just  sunk  back  into  its  place  again.  Then  he 
sprang  forward  with  a  cry  which  no  one  but  himself  could 
hear : 

"  Elias ! " 


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